6
University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, April 29, 1992
HEALTH
Agriculture Department alters food group recommendations
New food 'pyramid' clearly suggests eating more grains and fewer sweets and fats
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The United States Department of Agriculture unveiled a new shape for the ideal American diet yesterday — a pyramid built on a base of grains and, more to the point, not much fat.
The pyramid replaces the familiar pie chart used since 1946 to promote good eating habits. The change is merely graphical — the recommended food-group allocations remain the same since the last revision in 1990 — but the government hopes the new shape will send a more powerful message.
"At a glance, the pyramid will help Americans understand more about the foods they need, from what groups and in what amounts." Agriculture Secretary Edward Madigan said. "For example, the pyramid clearly shows that fats, oils and sweets should
be eaten sparingly."
At the base of the pyramid are grains — bread, cereal, rice and pasta — which should be consumed at the rate of six to 11 servings daily. The next level shows vegetables — three to five servings a day — and fruit — two to four servings.
As the pyramid narrows, dairy products and meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts are displayed with advice that two to three servings be eaten each day.
Instructional materials featuring the pyramid were being sent immediately to schools, American-Indian reservations and feeding programs for the poor and elderly.
Children are the principal target, Madigan said. But the pyramid graphic also is featured in brochures for low-literacy adults and one for senior citi-
The Department of Health and
Human Services also will use it in its health publications, at the National Cancer Institute, and in the Commission on Aging. And the National Food Processors Association announced that the pyramid will appear in educational materials it is preparing in conjunction with new nutrition labels on food packages.
The pyramid cost almost $1 million to develop. The USDA decided a year ago, after a $106,000 research project, that the pyramid was the best shape to illustrate the 1990 revised food guidelines.
But, after an uproar from the meat industry, it pulled it back for $855,000 worth of more research.
Thirty-three changes were made, mostly minor, based on the opinions gathered from more than 3,000 people in five cities, representing children; the elderly; minorities; English and
Spanish speaking people; various income and educational backgrounds; trade associations; and health and consumer groups.
The meat industry is no longer objecting, although James Marsden, vice president of scientific affairs at the American Meat Institute, said he still thought people might misinterpret it as favoring one food over the other. He pointed out that serving sizes differ from food to food by weight, which is not noted on the graphic.
And other critics remain. Sen.
Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the
Senate Agriculture Committee, said,
"It doesn't matter whether USDA
picks a pyramid, a bowl, or an upside-
down ketchup bottle to show consumers what foods to eat. USDA's
delay cost nearly $1 million and the
administration ended up right where
they started."
Government's new food pyramid
Old basic food groups
- Foods such as salad dressings and oils, cream, butter, margarine, soft serve desserts and sweet desserts. These foods provide calories but little else nutrition. The government recommends using them sparingly.
Too many nonprescription drugs pose threat, Congress told
Even casual overdoses of common drugs can be disastrous to health
Source: Orange County Register, Agriculture Department
The Associated Press
Knight-Ridder Tribune
WASHINGTON — Some people are proving a serious health hazard to themselves through the indiscriminate use of nonprescription drugs. Congress was told yesterday.
Many adults either don't read dosage instructions and warnings or consciously violate them in a desire to get enough of a good thing — with the result that they get too much, witness said at a joint hearing of two House subcommittees.
And such casual overdosing, even of such a
common and benign product as aspirin, can produce disastrous health consequences, they said.
All too typically, consumers may become frustrated with the lack of desired effects and take two to four times the recommended dose to achieve more rapid and greater results, said Dr. Raymond Lake of the Uniformed Service University in Washington.
Wilma Phillips, a 76-year-old psychologist from Bethesda, Md., acknowledged that she wound up in the hospital with ulcers because of taking two aspirin every night for two years.
"I did not read the labeling, and I did not ask my doctor's advice," she said.
For a couple of years, everything seemed fine. Two aspirins at night, and her general aches and pains were gone in the morning. She started noticed changes in her digestive func-
in early July 1984, and on July 4 she passed out.
"The doctors told me that I had developed ulcers as a direct result of excessive use of aspirin, "Phillips testified at the joint hearing of the Small Business subcommittee on regulation and the Aging subcommittee on consumer interests.
Outside the hearing room, Thomas Bryant, president of the Aspirin Foundation, said he
Rep. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the Small Business panel, asserted that the drug industry and the Food and Drug Administration share the blame by not providing stronger, more prominent warnings and dosage instructions. He wants Congress to set new labeling standards.
"Permitting the drug industry to regulate itself on these matters is a danger to the public health, and it must be stopped," Wyden said.
had no objection to warning labels on aspirin They're there now, he said, and if Phillips had read the warnings, she would have consulted a doctor before doing what she did.
"Not everything is totally safe," Bryan said.
"I'm very sorry about the woman who gave the
ticket."
Sometimes, the panel was told, the consumer may not be at fault.
Mary Ann Minnema, a physician from Grand Rapids, Mich., testified about treating Christina Powers, a 32-year-old woman who had a severe reaction in 1988 after taking Dexatrim, an over-the counter appetite suppressant that contains phenylpropanolamine, or PPA.
Powers developed severe headaches, numbness and tingling sensations. After being in and out of the hospital a number of times, she was diagnosed as having central nervous system
vasculitis caused by PPA
Minnema said the product should not be sold over the counter.
"It would seem more appropriate for this drug to be prescribed only under the direction of a physician and only for specific problems where the benefit of administration of the medication outweighs the risk," she testified.
But John Morgan, a physician who echeates at City University of New York and was accompanying a drug manufacturers association as an expert on PPA, said there was nothing wrong with the drug's over-the-counter record.
"I do not think the drug is inordinately dangerous," he said.
When asked how it worked to suppress appetite, Morgan said no one knows for sure, but one study seemed to indicate that the drug does something to the brain.
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