US releases new food pyramid as expert says it ‘takes diets back to the 1950s’

Published 20 hours ago
Source: metro.co.uk
Every five years the United States dietary guidelines are updated by the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services. And this latest update caused quite a stir – not only because of its emphasis on animal protein, but also because of its overall guidance. Experts have made notable changes to the country’s prior guidance about healthy eating, and advise people to avoid sugar and highly processed foods. (Picture: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The new guidelines were released by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as he tries to implement Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) policy goals, which include curbing childhood vaccines and restricting access to unhealthy foods for people receiving food stamps. He and other officials, such as Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, had pledged to simplify the guidelines and remove what they described as the undue influence of food companies over their recommendations. (Picture: Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
At a White House press briefing, Kennedy said: ‘Today, our government declares war on added sugar. The new guidelines recognize that whole nutrient-dense food is the most effective path to better health and lower healthcare costs.’ Dr Bobby Mukkamala, president of The American Medical Association, said: ‘The American Medical Association applauds the administration’s new dietary guidelines for spotlighting the highly processed foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, and excess sodium that fuel heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic illnesses.’ (Picture: Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Recommendations for prioritising fruits, vegetables and whole grains and capping intake of saturated fat at 10% of daily calories remain the same. However, the latest iteration recommends adults eat 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, which is up from the prior recommended daily consumption of 0.8 grams. But it also encourages the consumption of full-fat dairy, which is a shift from decades-old guidance to choose lower-fat dairy products to mitigate the health risks of high-fat diets. (Picture: Getty Images)
It also omits the longstanding recommendation that adults limit alcohol consumption to one or two drinks per day, instead of saying that adults should consume less alcohol for better overall health, and recommends cooking with oils like olive oil but suggests beef tallow as an alternate option. A White House official said the guidelines reflect sound science and will support better public health outcomes as they are implemented. (Picture: Getty)
Some nutrition experts have criticised other elements of the new guidelines, including the endorsement of red meat and full-fat dairy products. Speaking to BBC, Marion Nestle, a former New York University nutrition professor, said: ‘Except for the excellent advice to reduce intake of highly processed foods, which were not particularly prevalent back then, these guidelines take us back to the diets of the 1950s, when everyone was eating lots of meat and dairy and not worrying much about vegetables, and heart disease was rampant.’ (Picture: Getty)
Interestingly, the guidelines do not address ultra-processed foods, the definition of which is debated by the food industry but the HHS and USDA have said they are developing a federal definition for ultra-processed foods. Researchers have warned that ultra-processed foods, which often include additives and industrial ingredients, are associated with poorer health outcomes such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. (Picture: Getty)

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