Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns unveiled a child-friendly version of the new MyPyramid Food Guidance System called MyPyramid for Kids.

"This is a fun approach to addressing the very serious problem of childhood obesity," said Johanns. "As teachers take advantage of the lesson plans and children learn what it takes to win the game, messages about the importance of healthy eating and physical activity will take hold. We know that MyPyramid captured America's attention and our hope is that MyPyramid for Kids will inspire the same level of interest and help to improve the health of America's kids."

The interactive computer game, called MyPyramid Blast Off, involves a rocket that needs fuel to blast off. The game reinforces the key concepts of MyPyramid for Kids by challenging students to select a healthy variety of foods and physical activities to fuel their rockets.

The key messages are:

• Be physically active every day – The child climbing the steps reminds children that physical activity should be done every day.
• Choose healthier foods from each group – Every food group has foods that you should eat more often than others.
• Eat more of some food groups than others – The different size stripes suggest how much food you should choose from each group.
• Eat foods from every food group every day – The different colors of the pyramid represent the five different food groups plus oils.
• Make the right choices for you – MyPyramid.gov gives everyone in the family personal ideas on how to eat better and exercise more.
• Take it one step at a time – Start with one new, good thing a day, and continue to add another new one every day.

Play the game at MyPyramid.gov.