The food pyramid that once guided Americans’ diets has been retired for more than a decade, but that has not stopped President Donald Trump's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., from regularly criticizing the concept.
He often highlights the pyramid, misrepresenting dietary standards and criticizing health initiatives of the Biden administration. Such claims were featured in a video aired Tuesday, before his appearance on Fox News' “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
Here's a closer look at the facts.
KENNEDY: “The dietary guidelines that we inherited from the Biden administration were 453 pages long. They were driven by the same commercial impulses that put Froot Loops at the top of the food pyramid."
THE FACTS: The original food pyramid did not mention any specific products. But at the very top, it recommended that oils, fats and sugar be consumed “sparingly.” Grains such as bread, cereal, rice and pasta were on the bottom tier, where six to 11 portions a day were recommended. The current dietary guidelines are 164 pages long, not 453. They were released in December 2020 during Trump's first term, along with a four-page executive summary.
A scientific report used to develop the dietary guidelines is published every five years by an advisory committee. The latest report, released in December by the Biden administration, is 421 pages long. Trump's first administration released an 835-page scientific report in July 2020 that informed the current guidelines.
“The dietary guidelines include several documents, including a scientific report which summarizes the scientific evidence supporting the dietary guidelines,” said Laura Bellows, an associate professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University. “It can be long due to the comprehensive nature of the document. That said, these findings are distilled down into concise guidelines that are foundational to the creation of consumer information and educational materials.”
Experts said that Froot Loops, a breakfast cereal, would have fallen into multiple categories under the pyramid concept, offering vague guidance to consumers.
“It’s a bit trickier than just one grouping,” Bellows said in an email. She said Froot Loops “would fall more in foods that we should ‘moderate’ ... but does contribute to the grain group.” The cereal is high in sugar, she added, but does have fiber and other key nutrients.
The Agriculture Department introduced an updated pyramid guide in 2005 that incorporated new nutritional standards. It retired the pyramid idea altogether in 2011 and now uses the MyPlate concept, which stresses eating a healthy balance of different foods based on factors such as age and sex.
MyPlate recommends making half of the grains one eats in a day whole grains and cutting back on added sugars. Similar to the food pyramid, this puts Froot Loops, which has whole grains and added sugars, in both categories.
“MyPlate, not the Food Pyramid, has been the visual graphic for the US Dietary Guidelines since 2011,” said Bellows. “So, referring to the ‘top of the pyramid’ is a dated reference.”
Kennedy's other criticism of Froot Loops has focused primarily on its manufacturer's use of artificial dyes to enhance its color. He has made getting rid of artificial colors in foods an important part of his “Make America Healthy Again” plan.
Asked for comment on Kennedy's remarks, the Health and Human Services Department said work is on track to release the final 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The agency said Kennedy is committed to ensuring those guidelines “are grounded in gold-standard science and reflect a clear focus on healthy, whole, and nutritious foods.”
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Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.
Melissa Goldin, The Associated Press
