This week, the US Department of Agriculture released the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. I’ve attempted to provide a brief summary of the new recommendations, and will be sharing more information after I’ve gone through the detailed report.
According to the press release, these guidelines represent the “federal government’s evidence-based nutritional guidance to promote health, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity through improved nutrition and physical activity.”
Children are a particularly important focus of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, given the high level of obesity in children (approximately 32% of children and adolescents ages 2-19 years old are obese) and the fact that risk factors for adult chronic diseases are increasingly found in younger ages.
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines acknowledge the heavy toll of diet-related chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer and osteoporosis:
- 37% of Americans have cardiovascular disease
- 34% of U.S. Adults have hypertension
- Almost 11% of the population, ages 20 years and older, has diabetes, and 35% of this same age group has pre-diabetes
- Approximately 41% of the population will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime
- One out of every two women and one in four men ages 50 years and older will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime
- Balancing Calories to Manage Weight
- Foods and Food Components to Reduce
- Foods and Nutrients to Increase
- Building Healthy Eating Patterns
- Helping Americans Make Healthy Choices
An oversimplified summary of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines provides a few steps that Americans can start today, including eating less, making half your plate fruits and vegetables, switching to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk, choosing lower sodium foods, and drinking water instead of sugary drinks.
The Executive Summary provides more useful recommendations, including:
- Limit the consumption of foods that contain refined grains, especially refined grain foods that contain solid fats, added sugars and sodium
- Eat a variety of vegetables, especially dark-green and red and orange vegetables and beans and peas
- Consume at least half of all grains as whole grains; increase whole-grain intake by replacing refined grains with whole grains
- Choose foods that provide more potassium, dietary fiber, calcium and vitamin D, which are nutrients of concern in American diets. These foods include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and milk and milk products.
- Replace protein foods that are higher in solid fats with choices that are lower in solid fats and calories
I will be reading through each of the five chapters detailing the government’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines, and sharing more details from each chapter in future posts.
The New 2010 Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans – Foods and Nutrients to Increase
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The New 2010 Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans – Foods and Food Components to Reduce
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The New 2010 Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans – Balancing Calories to Manage Weight
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Great post! Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention!
I can't lie… I take everything into consideration. I aim to provide healthy meals. I enjoy everything in moderation and count calories, exercise more, and drink lots of water. Breaking habits is the hardest process but once you start making small changes they become second nature. I aim to focus on one element at a time until it becomes habit. Drinking the recommended amount of water was my first challenge and now I drink it and even crave it. Just wanted to let you know that I am hosting a Culinary Smackdown Battle and would love for you to check it out and participate if you are interested: http://imapretendchef.blogspot.com/2011/01/culinary-smackdown-battle-hand-held.html
I agree, moderation and small changes seem to work best long term. Your Culinary Smackdown Battle sounds like a lot of fun! If I have time, I'd make a Chinese steamed meat bun, using white whole wheat flour for the dough and ground turkey and Chinese napa cabbage for the filling.