By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – African American women who follow the same diet as white women and exercise just as much tend to lose less weight because they burn fewer calories, a new study suggests. “Many large and well done studies have demonstrated that African American women tend to lose fewer pounds than their Caucasian counterparts,” Dr. Ann Smith Barnes told Reuters Health by email. Smith Barnes studies obesity at Baylor College of Medicine and is the medical director of Weight Management Services and Disease Prevention for the Harris Health System of Houston. Scientists haven’t been sure what explains those differences in weight loss.

Most Americans know about MyPyramid – the triangle depicting how many servings of each food group you should eat in a day – but who knows about MyPlate – the circle showing what a healthy meal looks like? MyPlate was created in 2011 by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help American consumers put the Dietary Guidelines into practice.