Health
Food pyramid backlash: Low-fat era may have fueled obesity, diabetes, says doctor
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The Trump administration’s January rollout of the new, inverted food pyramid has sparked some debate in nutrition circles, as it places a stronger emphasis on dairy, red meats and foods higher in fat.
The top of the pyramid, which is now the wider part of the structure, is built on meat, fats, fruits and vegetables, while whole grains are at the narrow bottom.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Mark Hyman, co-founder of Function Health and author of the new book “Food Fix Uncensored,” commented on the backlash the new guidelines have received.
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“The pyramid is just a graphic representation of the content … and it’s really impossible to create a proper visual that’s going to satisfy everybody,” said the Massachusetts-based expert. “Could it have been better? Sure.”
Although he acknowledged there is room for improvement, Hyman, host of “The Dr. Hyman Show” podcast, praised the new model for focusing on what’s been driving obesity in America.
The new nutrition food pyramid shows previous guidance flipped in an inverted structure. (realfood.gov)
“Did it flip the script from what we used to have, which was a low-fat, high-carb set of recommendations from the government that caused the obesity, diabetes epidemic and all the resulting costs and consequences on society?” he asked. “Yeah, we needed to fix that.”
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In his new book, Hyman writes that a central component of America’s dietary policy is what Americans are told to eat — and why.
“I think it was a good step in the right direction.”
The doctor highlighted key updates to U.S. dietary guidance, including a stronger emphasis on whole foods, limits on highly processed products and sugar-sweetened beverages, and revised protein recommendations to “reflect the current science.”
“This is revolutionary,” Hyman said.
Dr. Mark Hyman is the author of the new book “Food Fix Uncensored.” (Function Health; Little, Brown Spark)
The updated pyramid also recommends consuming whole grains, while previous guidance green-lit white flour in portions, which the doctor says is not optimal for human health.
The guidelines are “a bit more protein-forward” than before, Hyman noted, with less of an emphasis on low-fat and non-fat dairy. The expert called the low-fat movement “problematic.”
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“The data didn’t support it,” he said. “It was maybe even the opposite — there was some evidence that kids who had low-fat or non-fat milk actually had more obesity issues because it’s not as satisfying.”
The doctor highlighted key updates to U.S. dietary guidance, including a stronger emphasis on whole foods, limits on highly processed products and sugar-sweetened beverages, and revised protein recommendations to “reflect the current science.” (iStock)
“On the whole, I think [the guidelines are] a big improvement,” Hyman said. “Are they perfect? No. Were there problems? Yes. But it’s a radical departure from what was, and I think it was a good step in the right direction.”
Many Americans struggle with a variety of health conditions that may require specialized diets, such as high cholesterol, inflammation or lactose intolerance.
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Hyman noted that if he had written the guidelines himself, he would have specified that dairy is not a mandatory recommendation.
“There’s no scientific evidence that humans require it,” he said. “It’s a perfectly fine choice if you want to make it.”
Dairy consumption should be a “personalized choice” based on how it affects a person, the doctor said. (iStock)
Dairy consumption should be a “personalized choice” based on how it affects a person, said the doctor, adding that it would be “problematic” guidance to tell Americans they must choose three servings per day.
“It should be understood that 75% of the population is lactose-intolerant, that many people have inflammatory or other issues as a result of consuming dairy — and it should be a personalized choice based on how it affects them.”
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Consuming protein also requires a level of personalization, the expert said, particularly for those who have certain medical conditions, like kidney failure.
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“[The government] could have made more nuanced statements around aging and longevity … and [around] higher protein needs when you’re older, when you are sick, and so forth,” Hyman added. “I think there’s some nuance there that could have been underscored.”
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As colorectal cancer (CRC) is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50, a new report reveals some surprising shifts in the incidence of the disease.
Although rates of CRC have been declining among seniors, those 65 and under are facing a rise in diagnoses, according to a report titled Colorectal Cancer Statistics, 2026, from the American Cancer Society.
Adults 65 and younger comprise nearly half (45%) of all new colorectal cancer cases — a significant increase from 27% in 1995, states the report, which was published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
The disease is rising fastest among adults 20 to 49 years old, at a rate of 3% per year.
Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50. (iStock)
Among adults 50 and under, 75% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Half of the diagnoses in that age range are made between the ages of 45 and 49. Although that age group is eligible to receive routine screenings, just 37% do so.
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The report also revealed that rectal cancer is on the rise, now accounting for about one-third (32%) of all CRC cases — an increase from 27% in the mid-2000s.
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“After decades of progress, the risk of dying from colorectal cancer is climbing in younger generations of men and women, confirming a real uptick in disease because of something we’re doing or some other exposure,” said Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director, surveillance research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report, in a press release.
Among adults 50 and under, 75% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Half of the diagnoses in that age range are made between the ages of 45 and 49. (iStock)
“We need to redouble research efforts to understand the cause, but also circumvent deaths through earlier detection by educating clinicians and the general public about symptoms and increasing screening in people 45-54 years.”
It is projected that 158,850 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed this year, and that the disease will cause 55,230 deaths, per the report.
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More than half of CRC cases can be linked to high-risk behaviors, the researchers said. Those include lack of nutrition, high alcohol consumption, smoking, lack of exercise and obesity.
“These findings further underscore that colorectal cancer is worsening among younger generations and highlight the immediate need for eligible adults to begin screening at the recommended age of 45,” said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society.
When the disease is caught at a local (early) stage, the five-year survival rate is 95%. (iStock)
“The report also shines a light on the crucial importance of continued funding for research to help discover new therapies to treat the disease and advance patient care.”
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When the disease is caught at a local (early) stage, the five-year survival rate is 95%, the report stated.
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A new study suggests that middle-aged men may be more vulnerable to faster biological aging, potentially linked to exposure to “forever chemicals.”
The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Aging, examined how perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS, could impact aging at the cellular level.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals commonly used in nonstick cookware, food packaging, water-resistant fabrics and other consumer products, the study noted.
Their chemical structure makes them highly resistant to breaking down, allowing them to accumulate in water, soil and the human body.
Chinese researchers analyzed blood samples from 326 adults enrolled in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2000.
A new study suggests that middle-aged men could face accelerated biological aging at the cellular level due to exposure to PFAS. (iStock)
The researchers measured levels of 11 PFAS compounds in participants’ blood and used DNA-based “epigenetic clocks” — tools that analyze chemical changes to DNA to estimate biological age — to determine how quickly their bodies were aging at the cellular level, the study stated.
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Two compounds, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA), were detected in 95% of participants.
Higher concentrations of those chemicals were associated with faster biological aging in men of certain age groups, but not in women.
“People should not panic.”
The compounds most strongly linked to accelerated aging were not the PFAS chemicals that typically receive the most public attention, the researchers noted.
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“The associations were strongest in adults aged 50 to 64, particularly in men,” Dr. Xiangwei Li, professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the study’s corresponding author, told Fox News Digital.
“While this does not establish that PFAS cause aging, it suggests that these widely present ‘forever chemicals’ may be linked to molecular changes related to long-term health and aging.”
The study found that two of the compounds were detected in 95% of participants, and higher levels were linked to faster biological aging in men ages 50–64. (iStock)
Midlife may represent a more sensitive biological period, when the body becomes more vulnerable to age-related stressors, according to the researchers.
Lifestyle factors, such as smoking, may influence biological aging markers, potentially increasing vulnerability to environmental pollutants.
While Li said “people should not panic,” she does recommend looking for reasonable ways to reduce exposure.
That might mean checking local drinking water reports, using certified water filters designed to reduce PFAS, and limiting the use of stain- or grease-resistant products when alternatives are available.
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Meaningful reductions in PFAS exposure will likely depend on broader regulatory action and environmental cleanup efforts, Li added.
The researchers noted that midlife could be a particularly sensitive stage, when the body is more susceptible to stressors associated with aging. (iStock)
Study limitations
The researchers outlined several important limitations of the research, including that the findings show an association, but do not prove that PFAS directly causes accelerated aging.
“The study is cross-sectional, meaning exposure and aging markers were measured at the same time, so we cannot determine causality,” Li told Fox News Digital.
The study was also relatively small, limited to 326 adults age 50 or older, which means the findings may not apply to younger people or broader populations.
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Researchers measured PFAS levels using data collected between 1999 and 2000, and today’s exposure patterns may differ.
Li added that while PFAS is known to persist in the environment and the body, these results should be validated through larger, more recent studies that follow participants over time.
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