Study finds cracks in food pyramid

Researchers call guide outdated

Saturday, November 23, 2002

BY CAROL ANN CAMPBELL
Star-Ledger Staff

A Harvard study that followed more than 100,000 men and women challenges the nutritional thinking enshrined in the famous Food Guide Pyramid, the cornerstone of federal dietary guidelines.

Researchers who conducted the massive study, published in the December issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, call the pyramid outdated.

The Harvard researchers say the pyramid, an icon taught to children nationwide, encourages people to eat too many carbohydrates and too few fruits and vegetables. They say it fails to distinguish between good fats and bad fats, and should be toppled.

"My hope is that we can move toward a healthier diet to reduce obesity and chronic disease in America," said Marji McCullough, a nutritionist who worked on the Harvard study.

The pyramid prompted one of two food-related fights this week. The other was a dust-up between the American Heart Association and proponents of the popular Atkins diet.

The pyramid was created in 1992 by the United States Department of Agriculture, which has already decided to begin reviewing it next year.

People who followed the pyramid modestly reduced their risk of chronic disease. But researchers found that people who followed Harvard's dietary recommendations reduced their risk of chronic disease significantly more. Men, for instance, reduced their risk of heart disease by 39 percent, twice as much as those who followed the pyramid.

The Harvard diet calls for nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day, as well as a serving of nuts or tofu. It pushes fish and poultry over red meat, and three to six servings of whole grains each day. It also calls for unsaturated fats such as canola and olive oil over saturated fats.

The pyramid calls for six to 11 servings of rice, bread, cereal and pastas, and five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables.

"It gives people the false sense that diet should be composed mainly of bread," said Jana Klauer, a nutritional researcher in New York.

Not everyone wants to toss out the pyramid.

"I think the pyramid still has value. A serving of bread is only a half cup of rice, or one slice of bread," said Julie O'Sullivan Maillet, a researcher at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

At its annual conference in Chicago this week, the American Heart Association began countering a recent study of the Atkins diet.

"We are concerned that because the paper was presented at our scientific meeting that people think we are now endorsing the diet," said Robert Bonow, president of the American Heart Association. The heart association remains deeply skeptical over the long-term consequences of a diet that lets followers eat bacon and eggs for breakfast and steak for lunch and dinner.

Atkins is a popular low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet that has been dismissed for decades by mainstream scientists because it can lead to high fat intake. But in the past year reputable scientists have begun putting Atkins to the test. Three studies presented at medical conferences this year found similar results: low-carb diets may actually take off more weight than low-fat diets, at least in the short run.

A Duke University study found that people on the Atkins diet lost an average of 31 pounds, compared with 20 pounds on the low-fat regime. Triglycerides, which increase the risk of heart disease, fell more among the Atkins volunteers.

Scientists said the diet is safe enough for further study.

"It's going to take a while for the staunch advocates of 'low fat' to come around. It's hard to admit you have villainized something unnecessarily," said Colette Heimowitz, director of research at the Atkins Health and Medical Information Services.

Bonow acknowledged the short-term success of Atkins.

"But what happens with time?" he asked. He said cholesterol levels can return when weight stabilizes, and that long-term consumption of high-saturated fats could lead to stroke or heart attack.

The Atkins diet is popular among people who say the program is easy to stay on. At Ruth's Chris Steak House in Parsippany, where everything is a la carte, manager Jon Cohen said patrons can easily follow Atkins. Many do.

"You don't get a potato unless you order it," he said.

Cohen went on the diet himself earlier this year and lost 30 pounds. He has kept 20 of them off.

"I had scrambled eggs in the morning. Turkey and muenster cheese for lunch. Dinner was a veal chop, or a four-ounce filet. You could eat at 7 p.m. and still go to bed full," he said.

Carol Ann Campbell covers medicine. She can be reached at ccampbell~starledger.com, or (973) 392-4148.

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