U.S. guidelines tell public to cut calories

The nation's expanding waistline formed the backdrop to yesterday's release of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. To sum up the federal government's executive order: stop eating so much, lose weight and heap the salad bowl high and deep.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that the guidelines "are being released at a time when the majority of adults and one in three children is overweight or obese and this is a crisis that we can no longer ignore."

The guidelines, a joint project of the United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, are revised every five years and form the basis of federal nutrition policy, education, outreach and food assistance programs. They were developed by a committee of 13 experts in nutrition and health. To combat obesity and promote health, the committee made three overarching dietary recommendations:

1. Reduce overall caloric intake and increase physical activity.

2. Increase consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds, a variety of seafoods and low-fat dairy products. Consume only moderate amounts of lean meats, poultry and eggs.

3. Reduce consumption of foods containing added sugars and solid (i.e. animal-derived and hydrogenated) fats, sodium and refined grains.

Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University and the author of "Food Politics" (University of California Press, $19.95), was generally pleased with the 95-page policy document. "It contains a great deal of good information," she said, "and it is written with great clarity." But she was less impressed with the four-page "executive summary" which, she said, "is all anyone is going to read." (The full text of the document is available at www.dietaryguidelines.gov.)

In the summary, Nestle said, "they've done what they always do. When they talk about what you're supposed to eat more of, they use the names of actual foods - fruits, vegetables, lean meats. But when they talk about what you should eat less of, they use the names of nutrients - sodium, saturated fats, trans fats." Nestle cited the summary's recommendation to limit the consumption of "refined grain foods that contain solid fats, added sugars and sodium." "What does that mean? It means 'eat less snack foods.' "

The summary also includes 23 "Key Recommendations" for the general population that are more specific, among them reducing the daily sodium intake, consuming at least half of all grains as whole grains, and eating a variety of vegetables.

While the 23 recommendations are directed at Americans ages 2 and older, the guidelines also address "specific population groups" such as pregnant or breastfeeding women (who are advised, for example, to consume 8 to 12 ounces of seafood per week) and people 50 and older (consume foods fortified with vitamin B12 or dietary supplements). Nestle said that the government's dietary recommendations have not changed radically since they were last published in 2005.