My Trapezoid

By Sanjay Gupta

It's not really fair to blame the food pyramid that was retired last week for the millions of Americans who became obese since it was introduced in 1992. But the original pyramid--on which the federal school-meal program was based--certainly played a part. Not only was it confusing, measuring food in inscrutable serving sizes, but it led millions of Americans down the doughnut path, recommending the intake of large quantities of carbohydrates without distinguishing between whole grains, which are good for you, and highly refined carbs that you might as well apply directly to the hips and gut.

So I was interested to see what the USDA would come up with after four years of deliberation and food-industry lobbying, not to mention $2.4 million taxpayer dollars. The result is not so much a pyramid as a trapezoid, with a cute little staircase running up the side to represent exercise and a vertical striped color scheme that's about as useful as an amber terror alert.

But once you get past the trapezoid, the so-called Food Guidance System is an improvement over the old pyramid. It replaces a one-size-fits-all meal plan with 12 different plans. To get to the information, however, it helps to have access to the Internet and to go to mypyramid.gov when it isn't overwhelmed by visitors. I gave it a try last week. I entered my age, sex and exercise level and after about 10 minutes was rewarded with a recommended diet, measured helpfully in ounces and cups, that seemed tailor-made for me. I was less impressed after my CNN colleague Jack Cafferty pointed out that you can enter the data for two people with very different age and activity profiles and be given exactly the same diet.

The new scheme came under even harsher criticism from nutritionists, who complained that the government missed an opportunity to steer Americans away from the sugary, fatty, processed foods they consume in such quantities. "One of the biggest problems is it doesn't clearly say 'eat less,'" says Margo Wootan of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. It also says nothing about salt, saturated fat or cholesterol. Nor does the USDA have a budget to promote its new pyramid. Instead, it is relying on word of mouth from doctors and nutritionists, and marketing campaigns paid for by the food industry. --With reporting by Shahreen Abedin/New York

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

Man

Woman

Child

Age

50

27

8 (boy)

Exercise on most days

Less than 30 min.

More than 60 min.

30 min. to 60 min.

Recommended daily calories

2200

2400

1600

GRAINS

7 oz.

8 oz.

5 oz.

Whole grains, not refined white flour, should make up about half the portion

VEGETABLES

3 cups

3 cups

2 cups

Vary your diet with green and orange vegetables, and starchy ones like corn

FRUIT

2 cups

2 cups

1.5 cups

Look for fruits high in pottassium, like bananas. Pure fruit juices are fine too

OILS

6 tsp.

7 tsp.

5 tsp.

Olives, nuts and some types of fish are high in oils. Mayonnaise is mainly oil

MILK

3 cups

3 cups

3 cups

Low-fat or nonfat milk is preferred. Cheese and yogurt count; butter and cream don't

MEAT & BEANS

6 oz.

6.5 oz.

5 oz.

Low-fat poultry, like skinless chicken, is healthier than fatty ground beef

Sanjay Gupta is a neurosurgeon and CNN medical correspondent

With reporting by Shahreen Abedin/New York