The USDA Food Pyramid and America's Eating Habits.
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The USDA Food Pyramid and America’s Eating Habits.
Geoffrey Grant, Ph.D. & Cheri Fair.
At the end of April the newly published USDA food guide pyramid (1) was made
public, revising the 1992 publication that has been criticized as contributing to the
present state of obesity among the US population. The 2005 pyramid is based upon a
joint effort of the Departments of Agriculture [USDA] and Health and Human Services
[DHHS] that is incorporated in “Dietary Guidelines for Americans”.(2)
According to Dr. Mathew Reeves, a Michigan State epidemiologist, 97% of all American
adult’s lack a healthy lifestyle and do not practice educated eating habits. Surveying
153,000 adults Reeves found that 24% smoke, 30% are obese, 60% are overweight,
77% don’t consume enough fruits or vegetables and 78% don’t get enough exercise.(3)
These statistics appear to substantiate the criticism that American society is dilettante,
lacks discipline and has poor habits. The USDA (4) has concluded
“… overweight or obese people are more likely than those at normal weight to have
medical problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, diabetes, and
heart disease.”
Apparently we could use some sound advice !
Is the needed sound advise contained in the USDA food guide pyramid ?
And, perhaps more important.
Does the American public care about the guidelines and what will it take to change its
poor eating habits?
The USDA Food Guide Pyramid:
The USDA says the pyramid is based upon the normal eating habits of
Americans, however if 60% of Americans are overweight, and 30% are obese, the
“normal eating habits” are going to lead us astray. However, as the original advise in
“Dietary Guidelines for Americans” was prepared with consultation the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institutes of
Health (NIH), the Office of Public Health and Science (PHS). We should be in good
hands. ????
The 2005 USDA pyramid addresses some of the criticisms directed at the 1992
guide (1), for example, the new guide differentiates between whole grain foods and
highly purified white flour ones, and stress the need for added fiber in our diets, along
with added emphasis on exercise and weight control. It, also, discusses the differences
and benefits of oils and fats as being saturated or unsaturated. To anyone associated
with health and medicine these were both glaringly obvious oversights of the 1992
guide. However, examining different food categories on the 2005 pyramid shows some
equally apparent voids. It goes unmentioned in the new guide that there are obvious
nutritional differences in meat, especially in the quality and quantity of protein and fatcontent between animal, poultry, and fish. And although the new guide correctly points
out that we should control the amount of fat in our dietary intake it does not enlighten
the reader to the fact that the quality of animal meats, graded by the USDA, is
dependent, in part, upon the general fat content of the meat from individual animals.
The guide should point out that consuming meat graded USDA ‘select’ or USDA ‘choice’
are higher in fat than USDA ‘prime’ and have a consequential effect upon the saturated
fat content of the diet. (5)
Even though the 1992 food guide has been questioned for its recommended low-
fat, high carbohydrate diets the new 2005 guide does not satisfactorily address it as an
issue. The new recommended consumption of whole wheat bread, brown rice and
higher fiber grains is an improvement, however, the suggested levels of these grain-
based dietary ingredients do little to help the consumer decipher their attempts to fulfill
the stated balance of 70% carbohydrate 30% fats for caloric requirements at any level
of exercise. In addition to the above mentioned differences in fat level in meats, the
caloric content and glycemic index of different breads [standard white vs. sourdough vs.
pumpernickel for example] varies very widely, making the availability of carbohydrates
almost an unknown quantity even to the average diet conscious person. It would be
helpful if the USDA pyramid pointed out and explained the obvious quantitative
differences.
To its credit the new food guide does attempt to incorporate the obvious need for
adjusting the food intake especially calories to the level of activity and exercise of each
individual. However, the procedure that one must undertake to participate in the USDA’s
website’s (1) interactive process of evaluating the activity level and caloric consumption
is less than user friendly. Michigan State University's Dr. Reeves has pointed out the
key points of healthy dietary habits and lifestyle.(3) Healthy dietary habits include
maintaining a healthy body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 25 [a ratio of body
weight divided by height], not smoking, exercising to increase the heart beat rate for 20-
30 minutes per day [ 30 minutes 5 days/week], and including fruits and vegetables in
every meal. To determine your BMI it is simplest to use the USDA tables or a web
calculator. (5)
The apparent shortfalls of the USDA food guide pyramid have provoked /
stimulated almost every group and/or organization, that is concerned with the American
diet, to generate its own customized food pyramid. This is a very positive result of the
published USDA guide; stimulating both interest and input. The Atkins diet revolution,
which maintains that Americas obesity problem is produced by processed, fast food
consumption with its over-abundance of high glycemic index components, has its own
pyramid, an inverted version of the USDA pyramid. There are Asian, Mediterranean and
Mayo Clinic Diet Pyramids, all offering alternatives, and there are many international
food guides, based on that countries culture and eating habits. (6)
The USDA.
The U.S. food system is a complex network of farmers and the industries that link
to them. Those links include makers of farm equipment and chemicals as well as firms
that provide services to agribusinesses, such as providers of transportation and
financial services. The system includes the food marketing industries that link farms to
consumers, and food and fiber processors, wholesalers, retailers, and foodservice
establishments. (7)
Should we expect that the health and welfare of the American public to be the
only consideration in the preparation of the Food Guide? The USDA must listen to its
clientele in the agricultural industry and its mandate is to look out for the economic
concerns of that industry. The fast food industry contributes extensively to theagricultural marketplace and so it makes economic sense and is not unreasonable for
the USDA to consider its views.
The economic status of the agricultural industry depends upon the sale of the
grain, livestock and the farm grown commodities and the USDA’s concerns extend far
beyond the health and welfare of the American people. However, the USDA’s advice is
partially responsible for the obesity epidemic and it should, disclose its conflict of
interest in all its recommendations. Americans who read them have a right to know that
the food guide pyramid recommendations are a point of view that includes the need to
support the farming industries. We have had in the past few years a plethora of
defective information arising from our governmental agencies so we should question the
validity of the information we receive from the USDA. We are all aware that the tobacco
growers of America are regulated by the USDA which does not bode well for our
dependence on the USDA to look after our health. What did it take to generate the legal
and political pressure on the tobacco industry ? It took a greater economic force to
attacked it on the grounds of the health expenses, risks and consequences that were
costing other government agencies and the American people more money than its
economic advantage to the agricultural industry. The new USDA food guide pyramid
[sic] carefully does not offend its tobacco clients by referencing anywhere or suggesting
that smoking is a habit to address as significant as exercise.
Government reports are conflicting and confusing. What do we believe??
The American public is confused about diet and its consequences to our health.
The CDC has changed their position on their dire prediction as to the consequences of
obesity by180 degrees. During 2004 the CDC predicted that the contributions of obesity
to the death of 400,000 Americans making it the #1 killer of 2005. (8) However, a
recent publication from the CDC, apparently based on a modified interpretation of the
statistics, has revised the estimated consequences of obesity and now says only 25,000
persons will die in 2005 because of obesity factors. (9) It is difficult for the authors to
reconcile such significant changes without extensive explanation. After all the CDC
must understand that the average American [ 60% being overweight] is betting his or
her life on the reports. Additionally, a June article in The Scientific American (10)
questions the whole idea of obesity being the health problem that has stirred up the
medical community as well as the media. The media has taken up obesity as a
storyline, during the past fifteen years obesity related articles have increased
exponentially. (10)
The USDA’s quote at the beginning of this article correlates obesity and health
serious problems. Also, stressing the apparently discarded CDC position on obesity, a
biostatistician, S. Jay Olshansky, an epidemiology professor of Public Health at the
University of Illinois in Chicago, recently confirmed in The New England Journal of
Medicine (12) the dire concerns of high fatality rates for those that are obese.
Olshansky’s team of researchers predict a decline in life expectancy in the United
States later this century based on the dramatic rise in obesity, especially among
young people and minorities. The study determined that obesity currently
reduces U.S. life expectancy by approximately four to nine months.
“The magnitude of that effect may sound trivial to some, but in fact it’s
greater than the negative effect of all accidental mortality, such as car
accidents, suicides and homicides combined,” said Olshansky.
It is difficult to believe that Americans will change the habits of a lifetime and the
appealing taste of their favorite foods for the possibility of an additional half a year ofexistence, especially when different agencies and scientists radically disagree on the
risks we are running.
What is the real problem with the American diet and why does it contribute to the level
of obesity that we see in the population today? It is undeniable that the obesity level is
escalating at an impressive rate in all categories of adults and children. Starting in the
late 1980’s the level of obesity has progressively increased, by 1993 in all 51 states
10% of the population were obese, by 1999 all states had 15% obese and 40% of the
states now have 20% obese individuals. In 2005 four states are at the 25% level of
obesity (8). Figure 1. About 50% of all overweight adults are obese. Figure 2. (10,13)
Whether being overweight or obese is unhealthy or not is the subject of the above
mentioned debate. Unhealthy or not, the question remains:
Why are we getting fatter?
It would be convenient to blame a
government agency but the answer is
unrelated to the USDA Food guide pyramid
but instead arises from the eating habits of
the population. The population, in general, is
not concerned with the nutritional value or
balance of what they are eating and rarely
consider the quantity and quality of the food
or how it relates to exercise level and calorie
usage. The socio-economic considerations
are critical. Cheap food that is tasty and
satisfying can be had on every street corner
in American. Fast food consumption is a
reflection of the American lifestyle and a
source of enormous economic wealth.
Who is at fault ?
Can we blame the USDA or are the
purveyors of tasty food of undefined and
often unknown quality, guilty of some
kind of illegal act? No! we don’t think so.
The USDA is in the business of
supporting and regulating the agricultural
industry not what we eat. The fast food
industry provides a service to those
Americans who have little time, too little
money or little inclination to prepare their
own meals or to manage their diet. The
geographical locations of fast food
providers is usually situated in socio-
economic areas where sufficient
numbers of customers appreciate the
convenience, expense and satisfaction
the food provides, making the business a success. However, fast food availability is an
important factor in the obesity problem in the U.S.. Dr. Jay Maddock, a Public Health
Scientist at the University of Hawaii reported a correlation between both the number ofresidents per fast food restaurant and the square miles per fast food restaurants with
the prevalence state-level obesity (14).
Recently, in an effort to combat criticism of the quality of its food and business
model, McDonald’s Corp. the world's largest restaurant chain and fast food purveyor,
has adopted some healthful meals in its menus shifting the spotlight from french fries to
fruit. (15) However, in general, the consumer demands and the fast food industry
delivers and still has a practice to offer bigger and better and more delicious meals
without specifying the nutritional value of that meal. Not that, in the opinion of the
authors, would a breakdown of ingredients change Americas’ eating habits, but it would
give an opportunity to those that do care to evaluate for themselves the quality of what
is offered.
Fred Patterson, a business consultant from Austin, TX who has dieted and lost
about one hundred pounds several times in his life, and who finally did not wish to
repeat the process ever again, had gastric by-pass surgery. He says “the biggest
problems with the American diet is ‘portion size’ together with the content of processed
ingredients that are designed to improve taste and lure increased consumption that
tests the will-power of the consumer. I did not have the will to control my portion sizes,
or intake, so the bypass has done that for me permanently.” A gastric bypass reduces
the size of the stomach, which is then connected to a lower portion of the small
intestine. The operation bypasses a portion of the upper small intestine that absorbs
carbohydrates and therefore, mimics ‘enforcing’ a low carbohydrate diet (16).
Caloric density, essentially the number of calories per bite, may, also, be a key
factor in the equation. Boston Children’s Hospital researcher David Ludwig, in a long-
term investigation published recently in The Lancet, concludes there is a link between
fast food, weight gain and insulin resistance (17,18 ) "Fast food is designed to promote
consumption of the maximum number of calories in the minimum amount of time. This
may confuse the body’s mechanisms to regulate our appetite and the intake of food."
In agreement with Paterson’s opinion, and in parallel to obesity statistics, data shows
that, portion size has increased dramatically in fast food restaurants from 1988 to1998,
with the portion size of hamburgers increasing by 97 kcal, french fries by 68 kcal, and
soft drinks by 49 kcal (19).
The new USDA food Guide and its web site are well presented, more interactive
and informative than the old one, with advise that is well presented. The guide
emphasizes is the relationship between caloric intake and daily exercise but does so in
a non-impact manner, the average fast food consumer is likely to miss the massage. .
The American condition is caused by bad eating habits so, no matter how
comprehensively it is presented, the food guide is not likely to significantly change
anything.
1. The 2005 USDA Food Guide Pyramid. http://www.mypyramid.gov
1992 version http://www.agnic.msu.edu/hgpubs/modus/00000249.htm
2. New Dietary Guidelines Will Help Americans Make Better Food Choices, Live Healthier Lives.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2005pres/20050112.html
http://www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/pdf/dga2005.pdf
3. Reeves M J, Rafferty AP. Healthy lifestyle characteristics among adults in the United States, 2000.
Archives of Internal Medicine.165(8): 854-857, 2005
4. USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Body Mass Index and health. 16. 2000
www.usda.gov/cnpp/Insights/Insight16.pdf. http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/caloriesneed.htm
5. USDA: How to Buy….meat. http://www.ams.usda.gov/howtobuy/meat.htm6. PAINTER J, RAH JH, LEE YK . Comparison of international food guide pictorial representations http://www.eatright.org/images/journal/0402/commentary.pdf 7. USDA: Economic research Service. http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/FoodMarketStructures/ 8. Mokdad AH, Marks JS, Stroup DF, et al. Actual causes of death in the United States, 2000. JAMA 291(10): 1238-1245, 2004 9. Flegal KM, Graubard BI, Williamson DF, et al. Excess deaths associated with underweight, overweight, and obesity. JAMA. 293(15):1861-7. 2005 10. Gibbs W W. Obesity: An overblown Epidemic? Scientific American. 292(6): 70-77. 2005 11. Gard M, Wright J. The Obesity epidemic: Science Morality and Ideology. Routledge, 2005 12. Olshansky SJ, Passaro DJ, Hershow RC, et al. A potential decline in life expectancy in the United States in the 21st century. N Engl J Med. 352(11):1138-45. 2005 13. 11. Sturm R. Increases in clinically severe obesity in the United States, 1986-2000. Arch. Intern. Med. 163(18): 2146-2148. 2003. 14. Maddock J. The Relationship Between Obesity and the Prevalence of Fast Food Restaurants: State-Level Analysis. Amer. J. Health Promot..: 19, No. 2, pp. 137–143. 2004. 15. READ M. Assoc. Press McDonald's Unveils Healthy Living Campaign March 09, 2005 NEW YORK 16. WebMD: Weight Loss: Weight Control Glossary of Terms. http://psychologytoday.webmd.com/content/article/46/2731_1672 17. Pereira MA, Kartashov AI, Ebbeling CB, et al. Fast-food habits, weight gain, and insulin resistance (the CARDIA study): 15-year prospective analysis. Lancet. 365(9453):36-42. 2005. 18. American Obesity Association
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