BioMed Central Blog
"Food Pyramid" may require change
In the US, the “Food Pyramid” guidelines, which outline nutritional recommendations to the public, are reviewed on a five year basis. However, this model, adopted by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, is believed by some scientists to be contributing to the widespread obesity of the nation.
Dr Richard Feinman, founder of Nutrition& Metabolism, appeared on Fox News recently to offer his comments on the shortcomings of the pyramid and the difficulty in trying to overcome them. He describes an outdated and “one size fits all” model that doesn’t cater for individual requirements and fails to incorporate scientific findings. Using the metabolism of saturated fat as an example, he explains that the role of diet is traditionally misrepresented and highlights the importance of mechanisms such as these being properly understood by the public.
When asked his opinion on why information seems to be withheld, Dr Feinman surmises that “it’s very difficult to get such a big structure to move”, even for members of the committee who have genuine concerns, because of the substantial backing the pyramid receives from respected health bodies such as the NIH, American Diabetes Association and private health organizations.
To hear more about Dr Feinman’s perspective on the “Food Pyramid” and the issues surrounding these guidelines, please listen to the Fox News interview.
Posted by Sally Robertson at 16:57 Comments (0)
BioPsychoSocial Medicine announce Ikemi Award winner
Every year, BioPsychoSocial Medicine and the Japanese Society of Psychosomatic Medicine present the Ikemi Award in recognition of outstanding research in the field of psychosomatic medicine.
This year, at the 51st Annual meeting of the Japanese Society of Psychosomatic Medicine, the Ikemi Award was presented to Takehiro Nozaki, M.D., Ph.D. (Kyushu University) for his work on the relation between psychosocial variables and type 2 diabetes.
The Ikemi award was first introduced in 2002 and is named after the late Dr. Yujiro Ikemi, the first professor of the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine of Kyushu University and leading scientist in the field.
Posted by Srimathy Sriskantharajah at 08:39 Comments (0)