From Heartwire

New US Dietary Guidelines to Be Issued by Year-End

Lisa Nainggolan

June 17, 2010 (Washington, DC) — The US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) has issued its recommendations for the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, which are now open for a period of public comment [1]. The dietary guidelines are jointly issued and updated every five years by the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS).

"This DGAC report is expected to provide USDA and HHS with a strong foundation for preparing the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which will be released at the end of the year," said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a joint statement [2].

Commenting on the DGAC report for heartwire , chair elect of the AHA Nutrition Committee, Dr Rachel Johnson (University of Vermont, Burlington), said the recommendations differ from the last guidelines, published in 2005, in that "this is the first time they are being focused on the overweight/obese–an unhealthy population–and they are intended to meet the needs of the American public because the majority of people now are overweight or obese. They take a strong position about the need for people to be aware of their energy needs and try to achieve a healthy weight."

Another first is a chapter on total diet and how to integrate all of the nutrient and energy recommendations into practical advice that encourages personal choice but results in a healthy eating pattern, she says. A second new chapter complements this by articulating steps that can be taken by all Americans to adopt better lifestyles.

A key component of this chapter is "a huge emphasis on what we are now calling SoFAS–solid fats and added sugars," says Johnson, which contribute approximately 35% of calories to the American diet but contain few, if any, nutrients. "And they have now come out and said people should avoid sugar-sweetened beverages; that word ‘avoid’ is very strong language for a public-policy document like this. In the past, we have seen things like ‘moderate your intake of sugars,’ or ‘limit,’ but now they are actually saying ‘avoid,’ " she notes.

"Also there is this very strong emphasis on sodium, with a move to limit sodium intake to 1500 mg per day for all Americans, which is lower than the past dietary guidelines, but it does align with the current AHA position on sodium," Johnson adds.

Finally, she says the DGAC report encourages a focus on children, stating that primary prevention of obesity must begin in childhood. Key among recommendations here are to "bring back home economics," she says, because "it’s very difficult to eat a healthy diet without cooking."

Written comments on the DGAC report are welcomed until July 15, 2010, and oral testimony may be provided at a public meeting to be held on July 8, 2010 in Washington.

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