I've scanned the Executive Summary of America's new Dietary Guidelines, and can't find any reference to poverty, obesity and chronic disease. This is frustrating as this high level and very expensive to produce document contains "recommendations for a pattern of eating that can be adopted by the public", yet seriously misses out on the root causes of poor nutrition.
Cheers,
Helen Lutz
Community Nutritionist
Interior Health, BC
-----Original Message-----
From: Social Determinants of Health [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
Dennis Raphael
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 1:00 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [SDOH] The beat goes on...
New York Times
January 12, 2005
U.S. Government Updates Diet Rules for Next Food Pyramid
By MARIA NEWMAN
ewly revised dietary guidelines issued today by the federal government
place a stronger emphasis on calorie control and physical activity than
past guidelines to help Americans, many of them overweight, maintain good
health.
Balancing nutrients is not enough for a healthy life style, Tommy G.
Thompson, the secretary of the department of Health and Human Services, and
Ann M. Veneman, the agriculture secretary, said today in announcing the new
guidelines. The two secretaries said too many Americans are consuming too
much food, pointing out that almost two-thirds of all Americans are
overweight or obese.
The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans advises people to reduce their
intake, and to exercise for 30 minutes a day to maintain good health, as
had past reports. To prevent "gradual, unhealthy body weight gain in
adulthood," it recommends exercising 60 minutes per day, and up to 90
minutes for weight loss in adults.
"The guidelines offer Americans achievable goals for controlling weight,"
Mr. Thompson said at a news conference. "Let's start today."
The federal government must revise its guidelines every five years, and
this is the sixth report. The last revision came in 2000.
The new guidelines recommend restricting total fat intake to between 20 to
35 percent of total calories, with most fats coming from such foods as
fish, nuts and vegetable oils.
The report also encourages Americans to eat fruits and vegetables, instead
of just drinking juices made from those products, and to consume three
one-ounce servings of whole grain products per day, such as whole wheat
bread
"Balancing nutrients is not enough for health," the two secretaries said in
a statement. "Total calories also count, especially as more Americans are
gaining weight."
Ms. Veneman said the popularity of diet books and products shows that
"Americans are interested in leading healthier lives, but they want
credible, consistent and coherent information to help them make the best
possible choices."
The guidelines are based on recommendations of a 13-member panel of
scientists and doctors who spent almost a year reviewing Americans' diet
and health.
One of those on the advisory panel was Dr. F. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, director of
the Obesity Research Center at New York's St. Luke's-Roosevelt Medical
Center, and a professor of medicine at Columbia University. Dr. Pi-Sunyer
said that the new recommendations place more emphasis on physical activity
and on consuming more whole grains rather than refined grains, with less
sugar, because Americans seem not to be heeding past warnings about
consuming only as much food as they need.
"People love to eat," he said. "Food is available. It's relatively cheap.
It's variable. It's tasty. People don't particularly like to exercise. Our
society makes it hard. It's an uphill battle."
He said it is not too much to expect that adults should exercise at least
30 minutes a day, and more if they want to lose weight or maintain weight
loss. With more publicity about the new guidelines, he said, more Americans
will begin to understand how good nutrition and exercise are linked to
lower risks for a number of diseases and ailments, like diabetes and heart
disease.
"I think people are concerned and they will listen if we put out a unified
message," he said.
Panel members said last year that the increasing numbers of obese Americans
show that whatever the federal government had said about its food pyramid
in the past has not been successful
The department of agriculture said then that 80 percent of Americans
recognized the pyramid, which shows fats, oils and sweets at its point,
widening to grains and cereals at the base. But its research also indicated
that few people know what to do with the pyramid's information about
appropriate serving sizes and numbers of servings. The department said it
is revising the pyramid and will release it in the spring.
The new guidelines, which direct government policy for programs like
federal school lunches, place more emphasis on low-fat milk products and
also advises the public to eat two servings of fish a week.
More details on the guidelines can be found on the federal government's Web
site, at www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/.
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