"We've been scratching our heads," said Walter Willett, chair of the Department of Nutrition at HSPH. "There is virtually no nutrition information communicated by the new versions. Instead, you need to go to a web site for more information, but even then, the information you receive is imprecise." Willett had such serious concerns about the original food pyramid that he rebuilt it in his book Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy in 2001 (http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/). A second edition is expected by summer.

The newly unveiled pyramids feature six vertical stripes, color-coded to represent grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, and meat and beans. To encourage exercise, a figure has been added climbing steps up the pyramids' side. The corresponding web site, http://www.mypyramid.gov, asks visitors to complete a brief questionnaire about their age, gender, and estimated levels of physical activity. The results estimate how many cups and ounces of each food category the visitor should eat each day, along with tips such as replacing white rice with brown rice to boost whole-grain consumption.

Yet, "probably the most important measurements to be included in such a questionnaire are height and weight," said Willett. Without that information, the resulting suggestions can be misleading.

Carlos Camargo, associate professor of medicine at HMS and associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at HSPH, was surprised to find that the new pyramids do not clearly suggest that consumers eat less of specific unhealthy foods and beverages.

"There is a sense that the USDA is trying to do the right thing--but without telling people to eat less," asserted Camargo. "You can't eat your way to thinness." He was slightly reassured recently after receiving a USDA packet of pamphlets and tear sheets for patients that included a message for them to "know your limits" about how much fat, sugar, and sodium they should be eating. More specific recommendations were not spelled out, but "at least the USDA pointed out that there actually are some limits," he said.

Willett's and Camargo's overall disappointment contrasts with their pleasant surprise at the content of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/), released in January. Updated every five years by the Department of Health and Human Services and USDA, the latest guidelines have more scientifically based information than the previous version. For example, the guidelines distinguish between types of fats and encourage consumers to keep trans fat levels as low as possible. They also point to the importance of controlling weight. Camargo served on the federal advisory committee for the new guidelines, but he and other committee members were unsure what the final government recommendations would be until they were released. The guidelines remain imperfect, said Willett, but they are a vast improvement over the previous edition.

Unlike the dietary guidelines, the food pyramids are not revised on a set schedule.

2005 Food Pyramid
Credit: USDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

1992 Food Pyramid
Credit: USDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Healthy Eating Pyramid
Credit: Adapted from Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating by Walter Willett, M.D. (Simon & Schuster, 2001) www.health.harvard.edu. A new edition of Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy will be published soon.