USDA Points to ‘Pyramid’ for Proper Diet : Health: New guide is intended to illustrate nutritious eating. Objections from some food industries held up diagram for months.

A new “food pyramid,” which illustrates the latest knowledge of the elements of a healthy diet, was unveiled Tuesday by the Department of Agriculture, more than a year after it was first proposed.

The pyramid, which replaces the USDA food wheel introduced in 1984, points out that eating a lot of grains, fruits and vegetables is good for you and that eating a lot of meats and sweets is less so.

Nevertheless, the diagram was held up for the last year because some industries, including meat producers, objected.

At its base are grains--bread, cereal, rice and pasta--which it says should be consumed at the rate of six to 11 servings daily. A serving could be one slice of bread, half a bun or bagel, an ounce of dry cereal or half a cup of cooked cereal, rice or pasta.

On the next level are vegetables--three to five servings a day--followed by fruit--two to four servings. A serving of vegetables could be one cup of raw, leafy greens or half a cup of any other vegetable. A serving of fruit could be one medium apple, banana or orange; half a cup of fresh, cooked or canned fruit or three-fourths of a cup of fruit juice.

At the narrow top of the pyramid are dairy products and meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts, all displayed with the advice that two to three servings should be eaten each day. Those servings would total five to seven ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry or fish a day. Half a cup of cooked beans, one egg or two tablespoons of peanut butter would count as much as one ounce of meat.

Fats and oils, at the point of the pyramid, are accompanied by the cautionary note: use sparingly.

The USDA noted that the pyramid is a general guide only and that serving sizes vary markedly depending on age, height, weight, lifestyle and general health.

Although the information is the same as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans published in November, 1990, the government hopes that the pyramid will send a more powerful message.

Agriculture Secretary Edward R. Madigan said the pyramid is not designed to make a distinction between “good and bad foods” but that it is an attempt to educate Americans on the need to choose diets based on “proportion, moderation and variety.”

“At a glance, the pyramid will help Americans understand more about the foods they need, from what groups and in what amounts,” Madigan said. “For example, the pyramid clearly shows that fats, oils and sweets should be eaten sparingly.”

Last spring, Madigan decided to cancel introduction of the pyramid, saying the effectiveness of its message needed further testing. At that point, only $106,000 had been spent on researching and developing the pyramid.

Public-interest groups and other critics charged, however, that the postponement was the result of pressure from the meat and dairy industries, angry because the pyramid de-emphasized their products.

As a result of additional research--at a cost of $855,000, Madigan said--33 minor revisions were made in the initial design. A piece of cheese had to be redrawn to look less like a slice of cake, for example, and serving sizes were printed in bolder type and placed outside the pyramid for clarity.

The meat industry has since withdrawn its objections.

Despite the changes, some nutritionists said the pyramid fails to note the differing nutritional value of foods within a group. Red meat and poultry are treated as equal sources of protein, for example, even though red meat contains more saturated fat.

Madigan said a booklet will accompany the graphic to clarify information about the nutritional value of specific foods--information that a graphic cannot cover. For example, the text points out that whole milk contains more fat than skim milk, liver has more cholesterol than an egg and even three ounces of lean ground beef contain 16 grams of fat.

Unlike the graphic, the booklet also includes sodium and alcohol in the “use sparingly” group.

The pyramid will be made available immediately to schools and health organizations across the nation, with a special emphasis on nutrition programs aimed at the poor and elderly.