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When it comes to healthy diet and lifestyle choices, Americans are floundering. Take a look
at the nation's expanding waist line and the problem is clear.
Approximately 127 million adults in the United States are overweight.
Caloric intake is rising and physical activity is declining. And
when it comes to dinner time, we're opting for speed and convenience
over nutrients. According to the Office of Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS), 40 percent of the American family food budget is spent away
from home in restaurants, on fast food and on meals bought through
food services.
It's not just the grownups who are piling on the pounds. A sobering
16 percent of American children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are also
overweight. Recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention reveal that the obesity rate for adults has increased by 16
percent since 1992. It's now an alarming 30 percent, or almost one out
of every three Americans. That means that as many as 59 million people
in the United States are obese.
With a backdrop of numbers this staggering, the government issued
new dietary guidelines. Released on January 12, 2005, the guidelines
(see sidebar on page 25) advise us to exercise 30 minutes on most days
and to maintain a healthy weight. They recommend that we:
- Eat a
variety of nutrient-dense foods from the basic food groups—grains,
fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meats.
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Choose meat, poultry, dry beans and milk products that are lean,
low-fat or fat free.
- Keep consumption of fat to between 20 and 35
percent of our daily calories, with most coming from sources of
polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, such as fish, nuts and
vegetable oils.
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Limit intake of saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars,
salt, and caloric sweeteners.
- Consume less than 1 teaspoon of salt a day.
The new guidelines make important changes to the Food Guide
Pyramid, the dietary icon established by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) and HHS in 1992. The Food Guide Pyramid emphasized
the same five major food groups recommended today but with the focus
on low fat. The attention of government policymakers at the time was
to reduce the risk of heart disease.
In 1992, the Pyramid was heralded as the resource on smart food
choices. Yet over the years it attracted widespread criticism,
primarily for lumping together refined and complex carbohydrates, for
not differentiating between red meats and other forms of protein, and
for not explaining the important nutritional nuances of the various
types of fats. The new food guidelines attempt to address some of
these concerns. |
