The Food Pyramid = The Fat Pyramid

(A Cybernetic Rumination - June 2000)

Brandyn Webb / brandyn@sifter.org


Do a web search on The Food Pyramid and you'd think you'd found the greatest thing since.. umn.. sliced bread. But where the hell did it come from? (Yeah yeah, but I mean what was their scientific basis? Didn't think so.) It seems to bear little relation to reality -- every study I've ever seen would indicate The Food Pyramid should be renamed The Fat Pyramid, as it appears to be a perfect recipe for getting fat and unhealthy. Frankly it makes me quite sad to see all the propaganda, destined to fill our planet with unhealthy health-minded (ironically!) people.

For a reality check, here is what I turned up just now when searching the medical archives for the effects of diet on obesity and health:

And here are some other related web sites:

I also tried to find justification for The Food Pyramid in the studies hosted on the same government site that is seeding The Food Pyramid meme, but I couldn't find anything useful. Their studies on Obesity basically say, in aggregate: Most Americans are fat. Most Americans try to loose weight by cutting their fat intake. Most Americans are still fat and getting fatter. I also tried their section on Nutrition, but again it's just lots of studies that dance around the issues without actually supporting The Food Pyramid premises. Where's the basis?


Brandyn Webb / brandyn@sifter.org

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