How the Food Pyramid Shaped the Obesity Epidemic 

At my first clinical position as a freshly graduated DO, I received a copy of the NEW and IMPROVED "Food Pyramid" at my office. I had many hours of nutrition in med school, courses in undergrad, and had been feeding myself for years prior to starting college (7 years active duty Army) and I had a pretty good idea the pyramid was a recipe for disaster. I posted it in my office - UPSIDE DOWN. Patients would ask, and I would tell them my belief that carbs were going to create a generation of obese people. That was in 1992. Was I right?

If we call it "The food profitability pyramid", it is entirely accurate.

Got rid of carbs and sugar and I feel better than ever. The food pyramid absolutely POISONED Americans I've lost over 40 pounds

Dr. Peterson, I took my 14 year old son to see you when you last stopped in Durham, Nc. I had the opportunity to meet you personally but declined due to my physical appearance and being about 100 pounds overweight. Honestly, I was embarrassed. That moment, and the continued help of your videos, has helped me understand the importance of setting goals and taking the necessary steps are when trying to moving forward in life, and I do not want to miss out on any more of life's highlights! I thank you Dr. Peterson...

Overfed and undernourished; then over-medicated to deal with the resulting metabolic disorders…

It wasn’t just the Food Pyramid. It was also that cholesterol was blamed for heart disease. The low fat diet recommendations frightened people away from dietary fat. The problem could have been solved differently.

I read the book "Metabolical" by Dr Robert Lustig recently - it follows the thread of money and influence into nutrition and then medicine, the horrifying effect of sugar and processed food consumption, their effects on our insulin responses...very similar to this discussion, keep bringing the awareness to this!

OMG... I've been trying to explain this to people for YEARS! No one listens! So glad this video came out. It drives me nuts that we've been sold this since we were in first grade!

The most difficult part about eating healthy, is not the food, it's the peer pressure. "Hey, I brought donuts. Have one." "It's Sarah's birthday. Celebrate with us and have cake."....etc.

I never thought about the fact that the outside edges of supermarkets don't (tend to) contain highly processed foods, but the center does. It probably bodes well that the last several years I have been buying much more from the outside edges than from the center, and most of what I do buy from the center are raw ingredients rather than processed foods. I'll have to keep in mind to tread lightly when venturing into the center.

Keto literally changed my life in surprising ways that I never expected quite apart from keeping my weight perfectly controlled for years without effort. The food pyramid is so wrong that it's truly breathtaking. My doctor gets it, thankfully, but my mother is still convinced that I am now a ticking heart attack time bomb despite the fact that I am transparently healthier than I have ever been. Glad to see this information finally hitting mainstream.

It's all been turned upside down. We ditched salt and accepted sugar as a part of dietary requirement. I challenge anyone to try: instead of having a sweet breakfast, have a salted one, like eggs with veg/sausage. If I have salted breakfast, I have way less need for sugar throughout the day.

Lost 35lb a couple of years ago by restricting carb intake and increasing meat and animal fat intake. No veg oils but do use extra virgin olive oil. I also used the 5/2 diet plan to assist the weight loss. I have maintained the lower weight and, at age 76 I can still play tennis and chase my youngest grandchildren aged 12 and 8. An interesting aside here I had to go on a, so called, white diet of pasta, white bread and white veg for six days before a colonoscopy. In that short period I gained 6lb. Thankfully returning to my regular diet has seen that weight gain disappear. In the UK we have been fed bad food advice for years. Born in 1947 I was a child of the fifties. Meat and two veg, some fruit, plenty of eggs, cheese and fish and chips from the chip shop twice a week. To see a fat person was relatively rare and in a school class of 35 you might have one who was a little pudgy, not grossly fat. Then the, so called, experts came along with dietary advice, surprise, surprise we have a nation of grossly obese individuals. Brought up to cook from raw ingredients I avoid ready meals and manufactured food like the plague, very occasional pizza excepted.

The changes I am implementing now: Buying from the local markets natural products. no more processed supermarket cheese, hams, yogurt. no more veggies and fruits from the supermarket as well. I am going all local doing my best to find the families that also create the products and have their family bussiness. helps eating way better, helps the economy as well. the only downside I have seen is that it is a bit expensive, but not a lot more, like 20-25%. The cheese I find traditionally made by the people from my area is so full of flavor and it's almost more dense, you can feel it's taste deeper and it makes me eat less of it. Most likely more nutrient dense as well. Compared to the processed one in the supermarket from famous brands, which clearly have added some chemicals for preserving and as we all know - big companies cut corners everywhere they can for profit. I think the benefits outweigh the negatives on this change. I am looking forwards in comparing long term because i get the impression that eating better quality will make me eat less, which in turn will compensate for the extra price with me going a little bit more rare to the market to replenish the fridge. Also started using cash again which I didn't in a while and started avoiding the automating payment checkouts, instead going to the people that work there. let's all take the path of the highest general good.

Dr. Peterson you and your guest are 100% correct. I am 65 y.o. i was a practicing ICU RN for ocer 30+ years and have watched the complete deterioration of our population with poor nutrition. The major food companies and the diet industry have litterally FED their coffers on the lies. There was never a NEED for the diet industry until people became obese and sick eati g what the government/food companies told us to eat. Nutrition is and has been the key to health and vitality. If you get the NUTRITION that your body REQUIRES you feel better and can do more which in turn makes you feel better. Eat fresh whole foods with minimal processing or additives. Explore menus focusing on nutrition not calories. I DO shop around the outside isles of the store when i shop. I try to grow as much as i can of my own produce and preserve my harvest by dehydrating and canning my own food. The advantages are immense.

The carnivore method of eating changed my life unrecognisably. I wasn't unhealthy prior but I only now understand what healthy actually looks and feels like having removed carbohydrates fundamentally.

I have been saying this since the 90s! Thank you for bringing this to light!

When food pyramid is actually revealed to be a food pyramid scheme

4 soft boiled eggs Along with 16 oz of steak is all a person needs with an adequate walk and exercise every few days...

I grew up with this pyramid. It was all over the school walls and everywhere. Even in doctors surgery. I must have been around 12. I followed this diet to my detriment. The lies that has been taught to all young kids who lived in the first world country is just criminal. Now in my 50s I do my own research and not trust anything. I don't even trust my doctor for my health and diet. We all have been doomed.

Love these two guys, articulated brilliantly and helping to raise awareness 😊

this video is awesome, such effective communicators

Missed hearing your wisdom, its rejuvenating, thanks!

I did a lot of research into this years ago and was BLOWN AWAY. It all stemmed from the President at the time wanting to ensure everyone has enough food and just never stopped...this literally created the diet that we have now and all the accompanying obesity and all that goes along with it. The guy in this video nailed it. It really is a huge thing that goes back decades. I remember growing up and eating cereal and Pop-Tarts all that and, knowing what I know now, it's insane. It's good to see this info getting out there!!

It is a combination of factors. Main problem is cultural. In cultures that do not value gastronomy, that do not value high quality foods or home-made preparation etc., then you get an explosion of obesity when industrial production gets involved in the food preparation. Even in those high-gastronomy cultures, like France, Italy, or Japan, you get a bit of a slide toward obesity because the industrialization of food production also occurs, but they are more resilient against it.

Animal fats > Any oil Cholesterol/saturated fats don’t cause heart disease. Salt is good for you, it’s VERY essential for your body.

Great interview!

carbs are fine, it's the lack of physical activity that is making people insulin resistant. Carbohydrate intake should be roughly commensurate with physical activity. No physical activity makes any carb intake excessive--the answer is to MOVE

This is not simply a dietary problem. Food is used to comfort our souls when life gets difficult because it's always available and feels good. Pursuing physical health certainly involves diet and exercise but getting your soul healthy will make these lifestyle changes sustainable.

Here in the UK I was a stone overweight in my early twenties and went to my GP and he gave me a diet sheet telling me to cut out fat and salt and eat carbs instead. I followed this and put on more and more weight. Slimming clubs gave me the same advice. I began yo yo dieting. After a while I noticed they were introducing low calorie biscuits covered in caramel. It was then that I realised it was sugar causing my overeating problem. By this time I had T2D and was on meds. I did research and discovered about insulin resistance and how eliminating sugar and carbs would break this. I did keto for 8 months and by that time my blood sugars had fallen to near normal, I’d lost 15k and my cholesterol was in the acceptable zone. A year later nothing had changed even though I had started eating some carbs again. A year later and I’m struggling. My sugar addiction won’t let me go and it’s everywhere, even in some cheeses!

was introduced to the paleo idea and Dr. Weston A Price Foundation whilst in university and also did crossfit for a while so i did paleo too. Loved it. And it helped realize and become semi-educated on a lot of this stuff. Very good!

I think that was one of the most reasonable, even handed, logical and honest overviews of where the American diet comes from. Not with evil intent, not with nefarious purpose but definitely without proper guardrails and cautionary warnings.

When I visited the USA from off sub Saharan Africa, I was distressed to realise how poor and Mal nutritioned the American were, across 5 States that I visited. The price to eat what I was used to was impossible to afford consistently

Unsurprising that it always boils down to the bottomline, like most things in life. In the early days of the tobacco industry, they had physicians shill for their products on the packaging to sell cigarettes. You can never rely on any central authority to have your best interest at heart.

Once I understood that there is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate (there are essential fats and proteins) and the little glucose we need is manufactured by our liver via gluconeogenesis plus the fossil record clearly shows we evolved as obligate hyper carnivores getting 75% plus nutrition from animal sources (long bone and teeth stable isotope testing proves this) it became obvious to me a ‘Proper Human Diet’ was the way to go. My N=1 story: During the lockdown in 2021 I was obese with pre-diabetes and high blood pressure. I was suffering from metabolic syndrome. I understood the comorbidity I had as a 58 year old would greatly affect me if I contracted the Rona. I had to lose fat, reduce hypertension, reverse my NAFLD and reduce my HbA1c. Sitting in my armchair at the beginning of lockdown I saw that the keto/ketovore/carnivore diet claimed it could ‘cure’ my ailments. I watched a bunch of videos and tried to make sense of the linked papers supporting the claims. End result was that it simply made a lot of sense to me. 8 months later, whilst still sitting in my armchair (most of the time). I had lost the 30kg/66lbs of fat that was required to get me down to a ‘normal’ BMI, I GREATLY improved my blood pressure to the point it raised my doctor’s eyebrows. My blood sugar was well back in to the ‘normal’ range. I vastly reduced inflammation. I also reversed IBS that had controlled my life for 40 years (I lost jobs because of it), got rid of decades long debilitating heartburn, my Testosterone went up drastically (my wife is happy 🤓), a foggy & forgetful brain (possible early stage MCI, I sometimes also slurred my words) improved significantly and undiagnosed but recognised by my family I got out of a bad case of lockdown depression, A few months ago I further decided to cut out most vegetables, only adding a little onion, garlic, green peppers and tomato for some flavour. Improvements are continuing with a pace with better mental health, blood markers, skin condition etc. Cutting out processed food, (mainly grains as I already avoided ultra processed foods) sugar/carbohydrates and seed/‘vegetable’ oils is all it took … Simply eating nutrient dense meat/HEAVY in animal fat, single ingredient real food! We THRIVE when eating our evolved, species specific Proper Human Diet with some intermittent fasting to mimic the way our ancestors survived. I’m sure there are hundreds of thousands of people that have similar N=1 stories to tell …

Thanks for this, that last statement at 8:45 really resinates with me.

I think there's more to this addiction than meets the eye. It's about widespread dissatisfaction. We don't need ice cream but we do need a hug.

Self control is VERY difficult, cross that with the addictive nature of sugar and you have a recipe for disaster.

Thanks!

Thank you.

I've been wondering about the nutritional value of food going down. Even in your fresh vegetables and fruits, it seems like they are not as healthy as they once were. I'm not sure if it's the mass production or the weakening of the soil but some of it doesn't seem to have the same amount of "punch" that it once did.

Compare smoking rates since 1960 to obesity rates since then and you will see that we simply traded one oral addiction for another.

Great expert on this one!

I love your up front, don't beat around the bush honesty. I'm like that too. And I am learning what's wrong with food, and taking action now. To reverse the damage, these foods have caused. I was never taught about food. So I'm learning and making changes. It's never too late. 😊

I stopped buying store shelf bread after looking at the ingredients and seeing high fructose corn syrup in it

You forgot the 5th reason. Profit. That always part of a solution.

I started to notice this back in 91'. It's the first time I seen more people obese and more children with diabetes. Highly processed foods are not good for the immune system or the digestive tract, fast food especially. In my case I have IBS so I have always had to be careful with how many of these types of food I can eat without having problems like cramping and bloating. Over the years for the most part I have been able to keep my weight down but now that I'm in my 50s I have diverticulosis that turns into diverticulitis when I get flare ups and it can be painful. This is a problem that used to happen with people after 60 but it's happening now at a younger age with more people thanks to the american diet. There is no way to totally avoid these types of foods in this country and not have problems.

Dr Attia is my hero!!!!!

Absolutely true Low nutrient Carbohydrate drives appetite in both decreased time between being hungry and portion size blowout

thank you 💯

Two of the most respected people nowadays. ♥️❤💯👍👌

I studied a course in Early Education and Care over here in Australia (childcare for 0-6yr olds), and the food pyramid is right there. The kids eat more carbs than any other food group. It doesn't help that little kids have much more sensitive taste buds and will prefer bland foods like white bread, rice and rice crackers over a saucy stir fry or bolognas, but I felt like I was doing such a disservice to these little kids giving them a diet I knew was not optimal for them. They eat about 6 times a day and it's pretty much always carb based with small amounts of veggies, small amounts of meat, one snack break generally will be fruit only at least. One way they got their prescribed dairy intake was through vanilla custard... I think with one-child families on the rise, the benefit of childcare for socialisation is increasing, but if I ever put my kid in childcare I would send them with a list of their required diet, and send food with them too if I needed to.

Jordan: Your analysis is a part of the obesity trend, but I think more responsible are fast food companies like McDonald’s who enticed us to eat large meals (think Jurasaic size in '91, and soft drinks, the greatest empty calorie addition to our diet in a century). Even now, such companies are advertising, buy one sandwich get one for a dollar, encouraging us to essentially eat twice as much.

Yes and I also believe that the combination of modern day conveniences not requiring us to move more in our days and carb buildup is a problem.

I have just been learning this in my seventies(after studying nutrician in nurse's training years ago)...

99% of experts agree, it is the peoples' fault.

If everyone understood that humans are not equipped to eat processed foods (our bodies have not evolved to utilize unnatural substances), and that the earth provides everything we need naturally, then the majority of people would be equipped to provide for themselves on some level, but there isn't enough profit to be had by those who don't care about the wellbeing and greater good of others, so they perverse the facts to continue fattening their wallets.

wonderfull Dr.

Just more nuanced and intelligent info from our man Jordan. It never stops, Thank God. Top notch and right on. Putting aside conspiracy theories and the food industry, yes, more or less we are victims of our own success.

In the 60s no one really cared. Health didn’t matter. In the 70s we said running is healthy and let’s get rid of saturated fats. When that didn’t work, we said fiber. Then margarine. Then it was macrobiotics. Then in the 90s it was zone and atkins. We’re always spiraling in on finding out what works. If someone tells you how many calories to eat per day and that’s how you’re going to lose weight, they’re probably wrong. Because different calories do different things.

Shopping for food in the perimeter aisles of the store is still pretty good advice. However sadly it is being invaded by frankenfood. I would estimate about 40-50% of what is found in the perimeter is now highly processed trash.

I remember even in school they taught us to go look at the food pyramid for a guide on what to eat.

I grew up remembering the "diet lunches" at restaurants in department stores (beef patty, some sort of salad and cottage cheese)

Interesting! Also, I would say that eating unhealthy is still an issue nowadays because of two additional aspects. A: It seems eating carbohydrates is something addictive. When you stop eating carbohydrates all of a sudden, it can really affect your body for the first few days (like having a headache) which can get you back to eating like before. And it doesn't help that it's enormously easy to buy the addictive stuff and that eating healthy is often downplayed by other people. B: It seems people don't want to invest time in eating (healthy) anymore. Our hectic lives come first: there's no time for shopping for decent food, cooking a meal and sitting down to enjoy it properly.

Part of the issue is that they added High Fructose Corn Syrup to everything, even ketchup. Then added salt and sugar to cover up the taste of low-quality ingredients.

According to the old food pyramid, a combination pizza would be the best option. Bread crust , sauce and veggies, then some cheese, last some slices (1/16th inch thick) of meat. It’s all there in order: Carbs, vegetables, dairy, meats and fats.

that's a good point. Sometimes meat is on the right and produce is on the left, or vice versa, but its always the good fresh stuff on opposite ends while all the processed junk in the middle. Reminds me of how casinos always make you walk past the slot machines going from the entrance to your room, or to the bathroom, or buffett, etc.

I’ve always been sure the relationship between carbohydrates and insulin resistance was already known, but the economic benefits of bringing the poor up on it were just too enticing for our “fair” system

Lots of women claim to struggle finding a boyfriend. When will you tell them to self improve in order to get a man?

I’m 4 weeks into a “ketovore” diet! Amazing results for weight loss, inches lost, and huge improvement in digestion. Even my energy is increased, and I’m 65! It was JP’s anecdotal results from a carnivore diet, that inspired me to try! Peace

Barry Sears wrote all this in his Zone Diet books 30 years ago where stessed the importance of managing insulin levels and eliminating simple carbohydrates.

Bill Gates is part of the BigFood groups that keeps the world poisoned by sugar intoxication, drowned in seed oils, drain the world energy by highly modified grains and malnourished future generations by GMO products.

I was an obese person 8 months ago. 30 years old male. 5’7” and 220lbs. Bmi-34.5. I like foods and alcohol. I usually drink 6 cans of beer 🍺 at night. I have hypertension, back pain and fatty liver. It’s 4 months. My bmi became normal after 4 months. Fatty liver gone and no hypertension. And it’s been 8 months after I took care of myself. There is no one who didn’t open their mouths and asked me “is that really you?” when I showed them my old photos. I am still cooking. I will post it on internet when I think it’s about time”. Because without evidence no one will respect my words. On August 2023 I am going to force everyone to believe my words about health and weight loss with a pretty good evidence.

Awesome interview. You should invite Dr. David Sinclair to talk about food and longevity sometime.

The current diet also optimizes a lot for storage life. It creates a lot of economic benefit to eat sugar and salt ridden food.

The SAD with its emphasis on carbs doesn’t provide the optimal inputs your gut biome requires. Eating consistently can lead to insulin resistance. We’re literally eating ourselves to death.

What about Mr. Kellogg’s planning to release grain and sugar based cereals for the first time, and his direct partnership with the US gov and Dept of Ag, to suddenly produce that food pyramid coincidentally placing grains as the number one daily requirement?? And nevermind Mr. Kellogg having a brother, by the same name, who was an active Eugenicist who was working to create “solutions” for what he saw as population overgrowth of the undesirables. And so along with that food pyramid coming out and pushing it nationwide, we also received a simultaneous war on cholesterol and all animal products. So… what about that JP??!! Interesting that the most nutrient dense foods being animal products were socially destroyed, at the exact same time grains and sugars were put on the throne, at the exact same time Mr. Kellogg was creating his first cereal products, at the exact same time his brother Mr. Kellogg #2 was seeking to kill 0ff the “undesirables”. Interesting all those coincidences huh?…. I wonder who was the President then, that chose to create that partnership, and creat that food pyramid… 🤔

Nice suit!

I recently quit sugar cold turkey and went into withdrawals for a day or two because my gut microbiome was so unbalanced. But thankfully once the bad bacteria had starved and the toxins released from them had cleared out of my system I felt soooo much better - no more sugar cravings!

Even children when presented the food pyramid are smart enough to realize that it makes no sense. The fact that educators allow this bs in school really shows the lack of care and understanding towards education.

Growing up, my mom was constantly snacking on pretzels cos they were "fat free". She had taken the bait and remained obese and probably hasn't figured out the root cause of her obesity to this day.

Dr.Ken berry is the man :)

often overlooked is most Carb can be converted to fuel and plastic if needed

Dr Berg has been talking about this for years. Keto is the bomb.

Ancel Keys played a huge role in this.

I guess I'm lucky to somehow know how to get the correct balance. I like junk food but rarely eat it except for the occasional treat. I like to cook proper food and eat it. What amazes me is the volume of takeaways around now encouraging people NOT to cook for themselves. Where are the SALAD takeaway businesses. Salad is very time consuming to prepare but I love it!

As a child I would be considered thin today. We were not allowed to ‘graze’ all day; we had set meal times, we had set quantities of food to eat (no eating a whole packet of biscuits in one sitting- 1 or 2 a day only, very rarely had take-out, meat was included in EVERY evening meal, very few cakes or pastries in the house, I don’t ever recall a packet of chips (crisps) in the house. We were also active and it was safe to roam the neighbourhood. So there’s your answer - for 0$.

Meat is super good for you. Eating excess carbohydrates is way too easy. Eating excess meat is nearly impossible. We need to stop dancing around the truth: we are meat-based creatures.

Amazing how expensive processed food has become relative to the healthy whole foods I thrive on now. Pottenger's cats research should have been the basis for our food pyramid!

What should we eat then ?

My understanding is that it originates from one prepared in the UK. Their pyramid was reasonably independent but I saw a documentary on it and one of the authors of it stated they were initially looking at recommendations for 8 to 10 portions of fruit and veg but were shot down by the health minister as being unrealistic. So they upped the carbs....

I'm sick of hearing that carbs are the devil... Carbs are only a problem if you eat too much processed food and don't exercise. If you work out and eat clean carbs like, grain, potatoes, oats, pasta and so on then you will not have any issues.

I never ever seen nobody go by the pyramid they go by easy and fast food look at McDonald's.

What book is dr attia talking about? Be great if any books referenced added to the description.

Japan and South Korea have eating recommendations similar to our food pyramid -load up on carbs - and have obesity rates of 3.7% and 5.3% respectively.

My husband is a cattle farmer in the beef industry. He cannot survive working without a high carb and high protein diet. I do cook nearly everything myself. I am very big on home cooked foods. If I ate the amount that he ate in a day, I would be obese, but he still remains all lean and skinny! 😅

My diet recently is like this : - tenderloin, white saussage, eggs, white cheese, lettuce, rucola, tomato, basil, oregano, garlic, parsley, black olives, pickled cabbage juice, cashew nuts, chestnuts, blueberries, ginger syrup (sweet but only a tablespoon to a cup of hot water), cinnamon tea, rooibos tea, lavender tea, dandelion honey, pomegranade juice, blackberry juice, and very small amount of little cinnamon bisquits (like 3 or 4 per day) and now I feel good :) no coffee, rarely black tea, no sugar in tea, no sweets, no jam, no pasta, no noodles, no chocolates, no icecream, I quit even nuts in chocolate, and esp no sodas.

Not all carbohydrates are the same. Glucose becomes blood sugar, and is metabolized by most cells in the body. Fructose, on the other hand, is extremely sweet, and causes metabolic changes to animals' bodies as a survival mechanism. Fruit helped our ancestors gain fat to survive the winter famine they faced every year. Fructose starts a "survival switch" that causes leptin resistance which increased appetite, and also causes energy depletion at the cellular level. This science is shown very clearly by Dr. Richard Johnson, and the historical record bears out his findings. When societies added starches to their diets about 10,000 years ago, they did not get fat or metabolic diseases like diabetes. When fructose was first extracted, and when people began beekeeping and mass produced honey is when we started to see obesity and diabetes explode, true fact.

The problem of obesity has nothing to do with the food pyramid. It has to do with the availability of calorie dense ultra processed foods that are high in both sugar AND fat. Humans for the majority civilization have relied on carbs as the main source of calories whether it’s bread or rice

This isn’t talked about enough