Call to Action for Nutrition Professionals: Use the Pyramid, Don't Blame it for Obesity

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 20 Jul 2004 - 7:00 PDT

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Rising concern over the problem of obesity has led to misguided criticism of the USDA Food Guide Pyramid, but the more pressing concern is the gap between nutrition knowledge and action, reports an article in the July issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

While the Pyramid is being held accountable by some for expanding waistlines, people are overweight despite their knowledge of the Pyramid and perhaps because they do not adhere to its guidelines, the article contends. The authors point out that those who follow the Pyramid have lower body mass indexes (BMI).

The article, by Jeanne Goldberg, PhD, and colleagues, summarizes the history of the Food Guide Pyramid, noting that it was introduced in 1992 after extensive market research and designed to translate several of the recommendations contained within the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The much-maligned graphic was actually found to be the best at conveying the three core principles of a healthy diet which are still relevant today-variety, proportionality and moderation-but was never meant to be used as a stand-alone document.

In recapping recent research on the diets of Americans, Goldberg, director of the Center on Nutrition Communication at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, notes that adults and children alike are falling short of the recommended number of serving from several food groups in the Pyramid.

Notably, many are also failing to consume the minimum Recommended Daily Allowances for several micronutrients, such as iron, zinc, thiamin and vitamin B-12. According to the authors, research is needed to determine how the Pyramid, and other nutrition education tools, can best be used to combat not only obesity but also micronutrient deficiencies.

"Abandoning the USDA Food Guide Pyramid in favor of an alternate representation is probably not the answer to the country's obesity or nutrition problems, especially as we have no data that show that Americans will recognize another graphic or respond to the information more appropriately," said Jeanne Goldberg, lead author of the article. "The better question is why so many people are more influenced by taste, convenience and cost than by health and how we can change that to create healthier lives."

Goldberg and the other authors on the paper called for dietetics professionals to continue to use the Pyramid to help consumers understand how the complex foods they eat, such as Pad Thai, or beef stew, translate into the a balanced diet. Research is needed, they say, to address which types of interventions are most likely to help consumers recognize and adopt healthful behaviors. Lastly, the authors note that nutrition professionals can capitalize on the widespread recognition of the Pyramid to find new ways to improve public health.

Goldberg, JP, et al. Journalof the American Dietetic Association, July 2004, 104:1141-1147. "The Obesity Crisis: Don't Blame It on the Pyramid."

http://nutrition.tufts.edu/news/points/2004-07.html

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