How the Food Pyramid Shaped the Obesity Epidemic

In this video, Dr. Peterson and Dr. Peter Attia discuss the food pyramid, the standard American diet, and their impact on insulin resistance and obesity.

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[normbal]

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?

[t.j.mcdermott]

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...

[lesworth]

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

[derek]

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

[jrkastl]

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!

[bwake]

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.

[haroldgreen]

I grew up in the fifties and my mom was a great cook. She did all the favorites like roast and potatoes, liver and onions, fried fish, pasta on sundays. Lots of french bread and home made bread. Well as far back as I can remember I had stomach issues. I'd often end up with cramping and sometimes constipation. Back in my school days I always had a package of rolaids in my pocket for indigestion. At 45 I decided to lose a few pounds and looked at different diets and finally decided to try the atkins low carb diet. In days most of my digestive issues went away along with lots of joint issues that would flare up from time to time making it hard to use my hands or feet. I allow myself 12 carbs per day mostly fresh low carb vegetables. Now it's 30 years later and I'm 74. A recent scan showed no blockages and I'm still active going up and down stairs multiple times a day and walking a mile first thing every morning. My diet is typically eggs and pork for breakfast. Lunch if I eat any is canned fish or poultry, cheese, eggs and any other near zero carb foods. My dinner is meat or seafood and two half cup servings of low carb vegetables. I have considered going full carnivore but don't actually know if that will make much difference nowadays compared to the very low carb diet I do eat. Don't know how true it is but I suspect the food pyramid is the govts. attempt to control the food supply. Grains are cheap and normally dependable to grow and can be stored for a long period of time. So they can keep large amounts of people alive during hard times. I doubt it being unhealthy even enters the equation. I've talked to people who say but this country eats mainly rice or this country mainly wheat and my reply is yes they do but they also eat barely above starvation levels and their bodies use every calorie they get from those foods. In a land of plenty like america it's simply a very unhealthy diet. I also agree and have thought the food pyramid was unside down for decades now. The thing is how do you convince anyone that all that media hype for veganism is likely the most unhealthy diet there is?

[michellerueff]

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!

[jamesbarca]

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.

[RaduP]

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.

[roblloyd]

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.

[derek]

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.

[dragonryderslair]

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.

[Daekar]

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.

[firemelon]

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.

[grumpyoldben]

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 …

[wishIwuzskiing]

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.

[andersdottir]

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$.

[chrissyp]

Animal fats > Any oil

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

[Zak]

1:46 food is very expensive nowadays, but if you knock out all of the carbs from your diet, you can somewhat afford steaks even cheap ones to start the carnivore diet. Lost approximately 7 pounds in about a week and a half.