Exploring the food pyramid

The food pyramid is something that most people are familiar with. It was initially conceived to act as a guide for healthy eating. The idea was that translating nutrition advice into a colourful pyramid would be a great way to illustrate what foods make up a healthy diet. However, it has been heavily criticized over the past few decades.

Keep reading to learn about how the food pyramid was created, the different components, and the criticism it has faced recently.

The origin of the food pyramid

Ironically, the origin of the food pyramid was not rooted in providing recommendations for a balanced diet but rather in combatting food shortages.

In the 1940s, against the backdrop of World War II, certain food regulations were created. These regulations were used in countries like Canada and the United States of America to account for food rationing and ongoing poverty.

It was not until 1974 that Anna-Britt Agnsäter created the first food pyramid for a Swedish grocery cooperative. It took almost another two decades for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create its own version in 1992.

Food pyramid components

The food pyramid consists of four levels of decreasing size to depict the proportions of each food group to be eaten. The bottom level comprised bread, cereal, rice, and pasta. The second level contained fruits and vegetables. The third level was split between milk, dairy products, meat, and other proteins. The top-level included fats, oils and candy, which were advised to be eaten sparingly.

Criticism of the food pyramid

This pyramid structure has since been heavily criticized for its oversimplification of what should be included in a healthy diet.

One of these criticisms is the inclusion of fats at the top of the pyramid. There is no differentiation between types of fats, leading to the assumption that all fats should be avoided. However, research shows that unsaturated fats are healthier than saturated fats and can even be used in diets to help prevent conditions such as coronary heart disease. This criticism also applies to nutrients like carbohydrates and proteins.

Another main criticism of the USDA food pyramid is the lack of clarity regarding portion sizes. The pyramid only includes the recommended portions for each level but does not directly state how much constitutes a portion.

The Canadian equivalent of the food guide was released the same year as the USDA food pyramid. The food guide, which took the shape of a rainbow instead of a pyramid, was called Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating.

The concept was similar to the USDA’s guide, with rainbow bands of varying sizes meant to indicate proportions of food. The first band is for grain products, the second is for vegetables and fruit, the third is for milk products, and the fourth is for meat and alternatives.

While this Canadian food guide does have some of the same issues as the food pyramid, such as listing all fats as bad, it does show some improvements. It lists some examples of serving sizes for different foods and acknowledges that different people will require different amounts of each food group.

Canada’s food guide has most recently been updated in 2019. The guide also shares other eating-related information, such as mindfulness around being hungry and full and cooking instead of eating out.

One of the guide’s most significant improvements is the new acknowledgement of different people needing different diets. The guide now shows recommended portions of each food group as meal proportions instead of listing specific serving counts. This change allows for diets to be more flexible to suit individual needs.

Food guides have seen significant development since their first implementation. As research on food and health continues to progress, diet guidelines will inevitably change with them. It is important to always see such guides as just that: guides.

They are not strict requirements, and cannot make blanket recommendations for everyone. While they are helpful for overall information, always be sure to understand your individual needs or consult a doctor to keep yourself in good dietary health.