A key moment in the history of American nutrition, the 1977 “Dietary Goals for the United States,” also known as the McGovern Report, fundamentally reshaped the nation’s diet. The report advised Americans to significantly reduce their intake of dietary fat while dramatically increasing their carbohydrate consumption. This governmental guidance catalyzed a major shift in dietary attitudes. Ann La Berge observes, “After 1980, the low-fat approach became an overarching ideology, promoted by physicians, the federal government, the food industry and the popular health media” (La Berge, A. “How the Ideology of Low Fat Conquered America.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, 63, 2, 2008, April 2008). 

The American government’s health advice “inadvertently spurred a boom in the production of low-fat processed foods, which often contained high amounts of refined carbohydrates and sugars to compensate for the loss of flavour and texture from fat” (“How Did the 1977 Dietary Goals for the United States Influence American Dietary Trends?” Britannica, 22 May 2026). While the rise of obesity in the United States was relatively small (approximately 0.5%) during the early 1970s, it increased sharply after the McGovern Report was published. According to Norman Temple, “The prevalence of obesity in American adults […] rose from 15.0% in 1976–1980, to 23.3% in 1988–1994, and to 30.9% in 1999–2000” (Temple, N. J. “The Origins of the Obesity Epidemic in the USA-Lessons for Today.” Nutrients vol. 14, 20, 12 Oct. 2022).

The Hunger Code cites the McGovern Report as the origin point for the proliferation of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) that now dominate the Western diet and, according to Fung, inadvertently ignited the obesity epidemic. By demonizing natural fats found in foods like eggs, butter, and meat, the guidelines created a market for engineered, low-fat products that were packed with insulin-spiking sugars and refined grains. Fung directly links this historical event to the current health crisis, stating, “the U.S. government’s 1977 dietary guidelines urged Americans to eat less fat and more refined carbohydrates, in the mistaken belief that it would eradicate heart disease. More bread. More rice. More potatoes” (82). This shift, he argues, replaced satiating natural foods with UPFs designed for overconsumption, creating a national diet that perpetually drives hunger and weight gain.