Though the Harvard food pyramid and the USDA food pyramid might look similar at first glance, a deeper look reveals important differences in the research that has gone into the two pyramids. The Harvard pyramid is done independently of all other corporations and institutions, by researchers using the same USDA scoring standards. So how is it that on several important fronts, the pyramids seem to disagree?

It might have something to do with the fact that the Harvard food pyramid uses the latest science and research. The last update was in 2008. The USDA food pyramid is updated once every five years. The current food pyramid is based on the now out of date data from 2005, and will be next updated in 2010.

Claims have been made that the USDA pyramid is influenced unduly by lobbyists from the meat, dairy, sugar, and corn industries. Though the developers of the USDA pyramid deny this, there is little doubt that various food industries are significant in the development of ‘MyPyramid’. Portions on the USDA pyramid are significantly larger than in pyramids of other countries, which is one of the discrepancies that led to allegations of undue industry influence.

Both pyramids put emphasis on exercise, moderation, whole grains, and a reduction of “unhealthy”, or less complex, fats.  However, USDA pyramid still doesn’t make it clear that unrefined grains, a lot of dairy, and red meat are things to be relegated to the top of the pyramid along with sugar. Another important difference is the protein section. In the Harvard pyramid, protein is separated into legumes and white meat or seafood, putting red meat up at the top of the pyramid with the sugars and refined grains. ‘MyPyramid’ still lumps together protein, making little effort to differentiate the protein that is better for you, and the protein that should be consumed sparingly, such as the red meat. The large dairy recommendations are another flawed aspect of the ‘MyPyramid’, because many Americans are unable to process three servings of dairy a day, and the USDA pyramid offers few to no alternatives.

In follow-up research, it was found that women adhering to the USDA food pyramid suffered 14% less heart disease than those that did not follow them. However, women who followed Harvard’s food pyramid had suffered 28% less hear disease than people who did not eat according to healthy eating guidelines.

As far as usability goes, ‘MyPyramid’ requires a key to even understand what the wide stripes mean, which food group they represent, and how important the various food groups are, this contrasts sharply with the clear and concise Harvard food pyramid, that can be taken in at a glance and requires no key. The USDA website is convoluted and confusing, providing no clear path to information such as where the research came from and the people involved in created ‘MyPyramid’.

The USDA pyramid represents the government’s stance on healthy eating and living. It worries to me that when compared with the pyramids of other countries, as well as with a pyramid put together by independent researchers, the government approved pyramid comes up slightly lacking in accurate, up to date, and unbiased information.

Sources:
http://whyfiles.org/179food_pyramid/2.html>
http://www.mypyramid.gov/
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/index.html
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/144962/government_issues_12_new_food_pyramids/

posted by Iris