WASHINGTON, 14 January 2005 — Aiming straight at America’s sagging paunch, the US government told Americans on Wednesday what nutritionists have been saying for years: Count your calories, get a lot more exercise and choose more nutritional foods.
With over two-thirds of Americans overweight or obese, the decision to get tough on the new dietary outlines has resulted in a cacophony of protests from members of the food industry.
The report, which is the basis for the new food pyramid guide to be released this spring, is produced primarily for physicians and health policy-makers every five years, has introduced specific measures for Americans to cut back on fat, salt, and sugar.
Statements that one can of soda exceeds the recommended daily intake of sugar has not pleased members of the $500 billion food-processing industry, which contributed to research and opinions in the report. Outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said their input had little influence on the final version.
“I’ve never seen a document from the federal government that says to choose drinks without added sugar, Carlos Camargo, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School told journalists. “I’m going to be talking about that.”
The guidelines goal is to steer a gluttonous nation toward healthier eating habits, and aims to reduce dangerously bulging waistlines and prevent heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.
The guideline (www. to www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines) offers 41 recommendations directing Americans to eat more fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans and low-fat or nonfat diary products.
It also recommends that Americans cut back on red meat (a separate government report released earlier this week linked red meat to colon cancer), advice that contradicts the Atkins and other fad diets that call for very low carbohydrate diet programs, embraced by many Americans in recent years.
While most Americans ignore the guidelines, they’re important because they form the basis of the government’s food policies.
Also for the first time, the guidelines set daily calorie goals: 2,000 for women ages 31 to 50, and 2,400 to 2,600 for men in the same age group.
Americans are told to avoid trans fatty acids. It also urged consumers to avoid highly processed foods with added sugar and too much salt.
In another first, consumers are urged to eat three 1-ounce servings of fiber-filled whole grains, which should account for half of all their daily carbohydrates.
Exercise is also emphasized as essential. The guidelines say that to reduce the risk of chronic disease, adults need to partake in at least 30 minutes of daily exercise.
