The DGE Ernährungskreis explained: seven food groups shown as segments of a circle, with a predominantly plant-based emphasis. How the circle relates to the food pyramid.
The DGE Ernährungskreis shows the food groups as segments of a circle. The larger a segment, the more you can eat from that group — the whole adding up to more than three-quarters plant foods and just under a quarter animal foods.
The circle divides all foods into seven groups: drinks at the centre, then fruit and vegetables, grains and potatoes, legumes and nuts, milk and dairy, oils and fats, and fish, meat, cold cuts and eggs.
The message is in the areas: the bigger a group, the more you can eat from it. Since the 2024 revision the DGE deliberately gives no fixed percentages — what matters is the weekly balance, not the single meal.
In the 2024 version legumes and nuts got a segment of their own — a clear signal to promote plant protein. The circle applies to healthy adults needing around 2,000 kcal a day, with drinks (about 1.5 litres) at the centre.
Older depictions named fixed percentages per segment. Those numbers date from before 2024 and are now out of date; this page does not present them as current advice.
| DGE Ernährungskreis | BZfE Ernährungspyramide | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | circle of 7 segments | pyramid of 22 blocks |
| Publisher | DGE (learned society) | BZfE / BLE (federal body) |
| Core question | in what proportion? | how many portions a day? |
| How amounts are given | share via segment size | countable portions (blocks) |
| The measure | relative area | the hand as portion measure |
The circle and the pyramid both come from Germany and agree on the substance — they simply answer different questions.
In short: the circle gives the principle, the food pyramid the practice. Both rest on the same DGE recommendations.
To turn the proportions into concrete portions for your own day, use the portion calculator — it estimates your energy needs and maps the groups accordingly.