MyPyramid e-Catalog

Kendra M. Bolden, Dietetic Intern
University of Maryland, College Park

The Society for Nutrition Education (SNE) MyPyramid e-Catalog is intended to help nutrition educators find and use nutrition education tools and curriculums that incorporate a considerable amount of content from MyPyramid and the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The development of the catalog is led by an advisory committee of SNE members, while supported by a grant from the Grain Foods Foundation.

The SNE MyPyramid e-catalog is a searchable listing of peer-reviewed resources. Each entry includes a description of the material, a review by two or more nutrition professionals, and a link to the actual material and/or ordering information. Other detailed information such as producer, date produced, format, audience, topics, language, and cost is also included. Materials can be searched by either audience or format. There is also an option to view only free materials. Each material is reviewed for content, diversity, and quality of print materials and Web sites. Overall comments and a review rating are also included in the peer-review.

In addition to finding information and reading reviews on different materials, individuals can submit materials for review by the SNE e-Catalog review team. Also available on the Web site is the opportunity to volunteer as a reviewer. Reviewers are educators, educational material developers and practitioners engaged in a variety of nutrition-related jobs with a combination of education and experience. Reviewers typically have experience both developing nutrition education materials and using them in the field.

There are a number of links available on the SNE MyPyramid e-Catalog including Society for Nutrition Education, Grain Foods Foundation, MyPyramid.gov, and Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

This Web site would be a useful resource for health professionals that want credible nutrition and physical activity materials with perspectives on real-life applications. Additionally, health professionals could use this Web site to become reviewers which would give them the opportunity to better their research and writing skills.