1. food and drink
2. food
3. grains and pasta

The Diabetes Cultural Food Plate
Eleanor Marfoglia and Lori Vinitski
Merck Health Literacy Leader: Laurie Myers
Program Goal
Educational Intervention
Educate patients with diabetes about
how to use the portion plate method.
Print Communication
1
2
1
4
1
4
l
l
l
Program Objective
l
l
l
l
Patients will understand how to
divide the 9-inch plate1
l
Clearly stated purpose
Southern
American
Limited scope of content
Patients will understand the portion,
plate labels: nonstarchy vegetables,
protein and starches.
Greek
Filipino
Chinese
l
Created with a
Dietician/Nutritionist
Food plates photography
printed at actual size
Hawaiian
Italian
Indian
Japanese
l
Translations available for
ordering
Mexican
American
Patients will recognize portion sizes
Non-English – speaking patients will
understand the portion plate
Vegan Diet
Spanish
Vietnamese
Digital Communication
l
l
Digital execution in
development
The print communication was offered
in a digital print ordering system
The ordering
system consists
of 400 education
resources
Translations Available for food portion plates
Patient Education Resources offered in Digital Print Orderi
One year tracking results
The cultural food
plate was the most
ordered resource
for one year
400 Print Resources
The portion plate method
may help with weight
management and
glucose control.1
l
Photographs: Cultural food on portion plates
Customer Ordering
The ordering
system confirms
that this resource
is in demand by
health educators
l
1
2
F
I
R
S
T
1
4
1
4
P
L
A
C
E
1 Year Tracking Results
1. American Diabetes Association, Living Healthy with Diabetes
Criteria to increase chance
of success
The program should be
appropriate, culturally sensitive
and meet the needs of the target
audience.2
2. Bernard Healey, Robert S. Zimmerman Jr.The New World of
Health Promotion: New Program Development, Implementation
and Evaluation.
The diabetes portion plate
The diabetes portion plate
Each item below is one serving
Nonstarchy Vegetables
• 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked
nonstarchy vegetables
Whole Grains and Starches
Meat and Meat Substitutes
• 1 slice whole-grain bread
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup dry unsweetened cereal
• 1/2 cup corn or peas
• 1/2 corn on cob, large
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup cooked pasta or noodles
• 1/3 cup brown or white rice
• 1/4 bagel (1 ounce)
• 2 to 5 low-fat crackers
• 1/2 cup mashed potatoes or
1 small baked potato
• 1 ounce fish, skinless chicken, or lean meat
• 1/2 cup tofu
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1 ounce cheese
A typical serving is about 15 grams
carbohydrates and 80 calories*
A typical serving is about 0 grams
carbohydrates and 45–100 calories*
Use your hand as a guide for
measuring food portions
fist = 8 ounces
handful = 1/2 cup
¼
How to divide your plate
Nonstarchy vegetables
Fill 1/2 of your plate with
nonstarchy vegetables, such as
tomatoes, green beans, peppers,
zucchini, artichoke, and broccoli.
¼
A typical serving is about 5 grams
carbohydrates and 25 calories*
Whole grains and starchy foods
Fill 1/4 of your plate with grains and
starchy foods, such as whole-grain
breads, high-fiber cereal, brown
rice, whole-grain pasta, and beans.
Milk and Dairy
Fats
thumb = 1 ounce
• 8-ounce cup fat-free or low-fat milk or
fortified unsweetened plain soy milk
• 2/3 cup plain fat-free or low-fat yogurt
• 2/3 cup plain fat-free or low-fat yogurt with
artificial sweetener
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, margarine,
mayonnaise, or butter
• 1 tablespoon regular salad dressing
• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat salad dressing
• 3 tablespoons light sour cream
• 10 small peanuts
• 6 whole almonds or cashews
fingertip = 1 teaspoon
Fruits
• 1 small fresh fruit
• 1 cup cubed melon or raspberries
• 1 large kiwi
Protein
Fill 1/4 of your plate with protein,
such as skinless chicken, lean cuts
of beef or pork, fish, shrimp, eggs,
and tofu.
Use oils that are low
in saturated fat. Good
choices are canola,
peanut, and olive oil.
(1 serving = 1 teaspoon)
A typical serving is about 15 grams
carbohydrates and 60 calories*
½
Provided as an educational resource by Merck
Customer
Logo
Customer name
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Address second line
Customer phone
Merck Commitment
The customer solutions team works
with customers to help improve
patient health outcomes through our
expertise and innovative solutions
A typical serving is about 12 grams
carbohydrates and 90-150 calories*
A typical serving is about 0 grams
carbohydrates and 45 calories*
*Read the food label for exact amount of carbohydrates, protein, fat, and calories.
Talk with your health care team about your individualized meal plan.
Use a 9-inch plate.
Copyright © 2011 Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in USA
Minimum 10% Recycled Paper
The diabetes portion plate for an American meal
English-GX
DIAB-1000438-0000 08/11
(order reference#)
DIAB-1081433-0000 05/13