New food pyramid coming

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-fit-food-pyramid,0,6398873.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines


Government to Unveil New Food Pyramid

By LIBBY QUAID
Associated Press Writer

April 19, 2005, 7:46 AM EDT

WASHINGTON -- A makeover for the food pyramid -- that triangle-shaped guide
to better eating -- might renew interest in healthy habits, but officials
say it likely will take time to make a difference for America's growing
girth.

"We didn't get to be obese overnight. We're not going to reverse it
overnight," said Eric Hentges, the Agriculture Department official who is
overseeing the new pyramid.

After months of revision, a new symbol for healthy habits was being
introduced Tuesday. The image has been kept under wraps, but the real
question is whether Americans -- two out of three of whom are overweight if
not obese -- will follow the new guide no matter what its shape.

People have steadily grown fatter since the food pyramid debuted in 1992. A
report last month in The New England Journal of Medicine contended that
obesity, particularly in children, was fueling a reversal in life
expectancy, shaving four to nine months off the average life span.

The new guide is just one element of a system aimed at making people slimmer
and healthier, said Hentges, director of the Center for Nutrition Policy and
Promotion. Also in store are Internet tools to help follow the new
recommendations, as well as tools to help educators and nutritionists spread
the word.

"Part of the problem previously was that we had this one symbol, this one
pyramid, and it was one size fits all," Hentges told agriculture reporters
last week. "Or it was a misinterpretation. In the case of grain servings, it
said six to 11 servings. Well, if you're supposed to be eating 1,600
calories, you never did get to choose these 11 servings of grain.

"Who knows what a serving is?" Hentges added. "It's whatever I put on my
plate. The servings differ for you than for your spouse, maybe."

This time, to make its advice more understandable, the government will
switch to cups, ounces and other household measures. The switch was
recommended in a 70-page booklet, "Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005,"
that was developed by a panel of scientists and doctors and released in
January.

The guidelines, which were the basis for revising the pyramid, include
eating 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables a day; eating 3 ounces
of whole-grain foods a day and drinking 3 cups of fat-free or lowfat milk a
day. The government also advises exercising at least 30 minutes a day to
reduce the risk of chronic disease, even more to prevent weight gain or
maintain weight loss.

In all, there were 23 general recommendations and 18 suggestions for older
people, children and other special populations.

That's too much to cram into a symbol that is supposed to be clipped out and
stuck to the refrigerator, Hentges said.

The Agriculture Department will offer Web pages that let people appraise
their diet and exercise habits. Such a tool has already been available
through the agency's Web site; the Interactive Healthy Eating Index has a
notice on its home page that it will soon be updated.

Even if the symbol and online tools don't motivate people to change their
habits, they'll still have some healthier choices. Food companies have been
removing trans fats from their products and adding whole grains because of
the government guidance.

"If you get the industry involved and make them feel that they're doing a
good thing and that they're getting credit for doing a good thing, they'll
do it. They'll change their product," said K. Dun Gifford, president of
Oldways Preservation Trust, a Boston-based think tank that specializes in
food issues.

Critics have raised questions about the public relations agency hired to
help create the new version of the pyramid. The firm, Porter Novelli, has
food companies as clients, but both Agriculture Department and Porter
Novelli officials have said the firm's industry work is handled separately
and there would be no conflict of interest.

Hentges said his staff of scientists, economists and nutritionists isn't
equipped to promote its new approach. If it's not marketed effectively, he
said, "then we're not going to be able to get this behavior change or
improve anything for Americans."

On the Net:

Agriculture Department: http://www.usda.gov
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.


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