How the Government Made You Fat
Ever since the introduction of the Food Pyramid in the early '90s, the average American has gotten fatter and sicker. Has this government-approved nutritional guideline — the basis of the modern “healthy diet” — led us astray? If so, how did this happen, and what can we learn from it? Cardiologist Dr. Bret Scher offers some food for thought on this very weighty issue.
In 1977 when the government first set dietary guidelines, the average American male weighed 170 pounds. He now weighs __________ pounds.
177 pounds187 pounds197 pounds207 poundsThe number of Americans diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes has risen from five million people in 1977 to how many people in 2015?
15 million20 million25 million30 millionThe 10% figure that the American Heart Association set the dietary limit on saturated fat at didn’t come from any scientific data. It was merely a government committee’s best guess.
TrueFalse_____________________________ is predicated on the deceptive nutritional concept of the food pyramid.
What our kids are fed in schoolWhat our military troops are fed on basesWhat sick people are fed in hospitalsall of the aboveIndividually and as a society, who needs to take responsibility for our health?
the governmentourselvesscientistsnone of the above
- Ever since the government began telling us what to eat, Americans have gotten fatter and sicker.
In 1977, when the government first set dietary guidelines, the average American male weighed around 170 pounds.
View sourceThe average American male now weighs 197 pounds.
View sourceAmerican women now weigh on average 170 pounds, up from 145 pounds in the late-1970s.
View sourceAn American woman’s average weight in 2015 was about the same as an average man in the 1960s.
View sourceBy 2015, the percentage of Americans diagnosed with type 2 diabetes topped 9 percent.
View sourceRelated reading: “Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health” – Gary Taubes
View sourceRelated reading: “The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat, and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet” – Nina Teicholz, Erin Bennett, et al.
View source- Government involvement in nutrition began when heart health became a national obsession in the 1950s.
After President Dwight Eisenhower had a heart attack while in office, the issue of heart health became a high priority nationally.
View sourceThe 1950s had seen world-changing scientific advancements creating a sense of optimism about the potential to solve almost any problem.
View sourceA researcher from the University of Minnesota named Ancel Keys claimed to have found the cause of heart disease: cholesterol.
View sourceKeys’ famous “Seven Countries Study” determined that people who consumed high amounts of fat, specifically saturated fat, had higher cholesterol levels and thus higher rates of heart attacks.
View sourceKeys spread his findings and became an influential member of the American Heart Association.
View source- Ancel Keys’ “Seven Countries Study” on heart disease—which significantly influenced American dietary practices—was bad science.
The sample size of Ancel Keys’ famous “Seven Countries Study” was so small and the life-style variables between the countries he studied so great that his research has no scientific validity. Countries with high fat intake and low rates of heart disease were left out of the massively influential study.
View sourceIn 1973, the American Heart Association set the dietary limit on saturated fat at 10%.
View sourceIn 1977, the U.S. government followed the American Heart Association’s recommendation, even though the link between fat and heart disease had not been proven.
View sourceKeys created the K ration used by American troops in WWII.
View sourceKeys’ findings were contradicted by other studies. A 1957 Western Electric Company employee study showed no difference in heart attacks in those who ate more or less saturated fat. A longer-term study of the same Western Electric subjects in 1981 reached the same conclusion.
View sourceRecent studies have found that higher carb intake increases the risk of dying, while those with a higher fat intake have a lower risk.
View source- To spread the message of fats supposedly being bad and carbs supposedly being good to schools, the USDA created “the food pyramid.”
The food pyramid was created by the USDA in 1992.
View sourceWhole grains were at the bottom of the food pyramid, meaning they should be consumed at greater rates than foods at higher levels, even though the primary benefit they provide, fiber, can be found in other foods.
View sourceThe consumption of refined grains — carbohydrates that convert to sugar in the body — has increased substantially since 1963. During that same period, type 2 diabetes and obesity among Americans has also substantially increased.
View source“The American Heart Association recommends at least 3-5 servings of whole grains per day for optimal healthy nutrition,” Dr. Bret Scher explains. “It’s simply accepted that whole grains are good for us.”
View sourceWATCH: Dr. Bret Scher – “2018 Cholesterol Guidelines: What Do They Mean For LCHF?”
View source- In response to flawed USDA guidelines, food companies have taken advantage of the low-fat craze—and Americans’ health has suffered.
Adjusting to flawed guidelines on fats and carbohydrates set by the USDA, supermarkets have grown saturated with supposedly healthy low-fat, high-sugar foods.
View sourceSince 1963, Americans have been consuming more carbohydrates and less fiber.
View sourceThe end result is a fatter population with an increasing number of health issues — like type 2 diabetes.
View source“We eat grains and wheat for taste, for convenience (since our society has evolved into a grain-centric society), and possibly for addiction (or at least a stimulated craving),” Dr. Bret Sher explains.
View sourceWATCH: “Is a Ketogenic (Low Carb) Diet Heart Healthy?” – Dr Bret Scher MD
View source
Here’s a riddle:
How is it that ever since the government began telling us what to eat, we have gotten fatter and sicker?
In 1977, when the government first set dietary guidelines, the average American male weighed 170 pounds. He now weighs 197. It’s not any better for women —145 to 170. And you don’t need an academic study to know the same thing is happening to kids. Just look around.
The weight gain has real-life consequences: the percentage of Americans diagnosed with type 2 diabetes—a condition that can lead to severe medical issues—has risen from 2% in 1977 to over 9% in 2015. In hard numbers, that’s five million people to over 30 million people.
How did this happen?
It all started innocently enough in the 1950s, when President Dwight Eisenhower had a heart attack while in office. Suddenly, the issue of heart health became a national obsession.
Keep in mind this was an era when scientists had harnessed the power of the atom, unlocked the secrets of DNA, and cured once incurable diseases like polio. Surely, there had to be a scientific solution to heart disease.
There was. And a charismatic medical researcher from the University of Minnesota named Ancel Keyes had it.
Cholesterol, Keyes claimed, was the villain of the heart disease story.
His now famous “seven countries study” determined conclusively—in his mind, at least—that people who consumed high amounts of fat—specifically, saturated fat—had higher cholesterol levels and thus, higher rates of heart attacks.
Lower your fat intake, and you would lower heart disease risk.
The ever-confident Keyes spread the gospel. As an influential member of the American Heart Association, he was in a very strong position to do so. There was only one problem: Keyes’s study was bad science. The sample size was so small, the data collection integrity so shoddy, and the life-style variables between the countries he studied so great, that his research had no scientific validity. In other words, he asserted a conclusion he couldn’t prove.
When other scientists questioned Keyes’s conclusions, they were invariably met with stern responses like: “people are dying while you’re quibbling over data points.” And, “there are great benefits and no risks” to adopting this new way of eating.
In 1973, the American Heart Association set the dietary limit on saturated fat at 10%, and in 1977, the US government followed suit. Where did the 10% value come from? It didn’t come from any scientific data. It was merely a government committee’s best guess.
This was despite contrary evidence like the 1957 Western Electric Company employee study showing no difference in heart attacks in those who ate more or less saturated fat. A longer-term study of the same Western Electric subjects in 1981 reached the same conclusion. But again, no one wanted to hear it.
To make this all easier to understand and to spread the message to schools, “the food pyramid” was created. That’s the chart you first saw in third or fourth grade with all the supposedly good foods at the bottom—meaning, “eat a lot of those,” and the bad foods at the top—"eat those ones sparingly.”
What our kids are fed in school, what our military troops are fed on bases, what sick people are fed in hospitals; what crops we plant and how we raise our cattle, are all predicated on this deceptive nutritional concept.
As Americans ate less saturated fat—margarine instead of butter, processed oils like corn oil instead of olive oil, low fat milk, low fat yogurt and so on— they also started to eat more “heart healthy” grains—exactly what the food pyramid, and the updated version called MyPlate, advise you to do.
As the consumption of saturated fat decreased by almost 40%, the consumption of refined grains—carbohydrates that convert to sugar in the body—increased substantially. Total intake of calories also began to increase.
This happened, in no small part, because food companies took advantage of the low-fat craze. They lowered fat and increased sugar. Suddenly, supermarkets were full of supposedly healthy low fat, high sugar foods. It remains that way today. Foods that are high in sugar stimulate reward centers in the brain and leave us wanting more. Thus, the famous line about potato chips: “Betcha can’t eat just one!”
The end result is a fatter population with greater and greater health issues—like type 2 diabetes, a problem that’s getting worse, not better.
How do we get ourselves out of this spiral?
There are many answers: for some, it’s a low-carb, high fat diet; for others, it’s a Mediterranean diet; for some, it’s vegetarianism; for others, it might be something else.
You need to find the best solution for you.
And that’s really the point: we need to take responsibility for our own health.
If the food pyramid has taught us one thing, it’s this:
Don’t rely on the government to take care of you.
I’m Dr. Bret Scher, cardiologist, for Prager University.
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