Interesting read. And I'm not trying to start a flame war, really.
Knowledge is the key to success (when tempered with all the other personal good quality traits) so any thing that can improve our lives and our health is worth discussing - even on an Arranger Keyboard Forum.
So here ya' go...
Trimming diets a super-size job
Thu Jan 29, 9:40 AM ET Chicago Tribune
By Andrew Martin Washington Bureau
In trying to persuade Americans to slim down and eat more vegetables, the federal nutrition gurus who are redesigning the government's Food Guide Pyramid face a formidable task.
While glitzy diet plans remain perennial best sellers, most Americans are inactive and overweight. While nutritionists push broccoli and water, television advertising dangles snacks and beer. And while U.S. agriculture policy subsidizes and promotes such products as sugar and cheese, it offers little or no assistance to fruit and vegetable growers.
Facing this reality, the man who is overseeing the first redesign of the nation's ubiquitous nutrition symbol said Wednesday that his team is considering a radically different approach as an alternative to the Atkins and South Beach diet plans.
Eric Hentges, executive director of the Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, said the revised pyramid may offer 12 diet plans ranging from 1,000 calories a day for children to 3,200 calories a day for athletes. The current structure is tailored to just three levels of calorie intake.
"If you are a 1,600-calorie model, you shouldn't be eating what the 2,800-calorie model does," he said at a meeting to discuss the nation's nutrition policy.
Besides tailoring diets, Hentges said his agency also hopes to make the Food Guide Pyramid easier for consumers to use by providing such things as a Web site to get customized information. While specifics of the diet plan remain a work in progress--officials are not even sure the new guide will retain the pyramid shape--Hentges said he expects some "bold" recommendations to change Americans' eating habits.
For instance, sedentary men between 31 and 50 of age would be urged to quadruple consumption of dark green vegetables and legumes, triple the amount of whole grains eaten and double the intake of orange vegetables. They would also be encouraged to cut their consumption of starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, and solid fats by half.
Similarly, inactive women in the same age bracket would be encouraged to triple their consumption of dark green vegetables and whole grains as well as double their intake of orange vegetables and legumes. They would also be warned to cut solid fats by half and starchy vegetables by a third.
"We have our work cut out for us," Hentges said. "This is still a work in progress."
Pyramid goes unheeded
Underlying the effort is a major shift in the goal of the Food Guide Pyramid. It was conceived as a simple nutritional marker, telling Americans to eat so many servings of vegetables, dairy products, grains and so on to remain healthy. The government unveiled the current chart in 1992.
But with nearly two-thirds of Americans now overweight and few signs that the trend is ebbing, Hentges said there has been a realization that the federal government needs to do a better job selling its nutritional guidance. Surveys have shown that 80 percent of Americans recognize the pyramid, but far fewer heed its advice.
"I believe that a lot of individuals are aware that they would like to lose weight," Hentges said. "People are doing things nutritionally, whether it is turning to the latest books on diet issues or whether it's turning to [dietary] supplementals or botanicals.
"I believe we [the government] have not offered the equivalent," he said. "We have offered the guidance but we have not offered the implementation as well."
Kelly Brownell, director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders at Yale University, said he worries that the food industry will have too much say in restructuring the pyramid, which he says has historically been the case in federal nutrition programs. He noted that much of the government's rhetoric about obesity emphasizes exercise and personal responsibility--messages that the food industry favors--instead of people reducing their consumption.
Advocating healthy foods
In addition, Brownell said the government needs to devote more money to its nutrition programs, suggesting it hire basketball star Shaquille O'Neal and singing idol Britney Spears to tout vegetables on television rather than fast-food and sugary soft drinks.
"I worry that the final pyramid, no matter how good, will have little impact because the government devotes few resources to promoting healthy eating, while the food industry spends massively to encourage people to eat unhealthy food," Brownell said.
Stephanie Childs, a spokeswoman for the Grocery Manufacturers of America, said urging consumers to eat more vegetables is a worthy message as long as the overall dietary guidelines are practical.
"There's the scientific facts of what it takes to be healthy and then there's reality," she said. "I think the key word here ... is that all these changes have to be realistic."
Childs said it did not make sense to demonize certain foods. Rather, she said, the revised guide needs to give Americans creative ways to incorporate more healthy food into their diet.
The changes in the Food Guide Pyramid, due out early next year, comes as the federal government is attempting to address the surge in obesity on several different fronts. The Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites), for instance, is expected to announce revisions to the "Nutrition Facts" label on the side of food packages to help Americans to make healthy choices.
Meanwhile, a panel of academic experts is participating in a review of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the blueprint for federal nutrition policy that is revised every five years to reflect the latest science. The recommendations are expected later this year and will be used to shape the Food Guide Pyramid.
225 letters offer advice
Hentges said his agency had received 225 letters commenting on the proposed changes, which were published in the Federal Register in September.
"The public's response was clear and to the point," Hentges said. "What the public wants from us is direct, common-sense advice on what and how much to eat."
For instance, many suggested that the Food Guide Pyramid use common household measures such as cups or ounces instead of the vague "serving." They also urged that the chart promote whole grains and differentiate between good fats and those that are considered unhealthy, such as trans fat, he said.
Hentges said he does not expect the food guide to immediately reverse the obesity trend, since most people gain weight by slowly adding more calories to their diet. Instead, he said changes would come in small steps.
For example, he has started wearing a pedometer to force himself to walk more each day.
"I don't think that we are going to be successful with some revolutionary tactic. We're going to have to reverse it the same way we got there," Hentges said.
Best regards,
Mike
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