You are what you eat.” That familiar saying could sum up the concerns as well as the recommendations of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, which was released only this year. It advises the young and the old to cut back on sugar, sodium, and saturated fats, and get more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, and seafood.
This advice may not sound new or revolutionary. But the recently released guidelines, which are updated every five years, are sounding an alarm about the obesity epidemic and highlighting what’s needed to combat it. In fact, the new guidelines directly focus on the growing problem of obesity and call on everyone to improve our eating habits and put us all on a path to better health.
?Background history
Though prepared by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health and Human Services, the guidelines are pretty much adopted by the international health community due to the scientific soundness of the recommendations. Since 1990, different editions of the guidelines have agreed on the general components of a healthy diet. But they have always adopted changes to reflect the latest research on nutrition and health.
Concerns and challenges
The 2010 dietary guidelines are based on a report prepared by a 13-member advisory committee made up of nutrition and health experts. In the report, the committee makes it clear that the obesity epidemic requires urgent attention calling the problem “the single biggest threat to public health in this century.”?In fact, it was recently reported that the obesity epidemic is not only widespread but also getting worse. This is a major health concern because obesity contributes to many serious medical problems including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some types of cancer.
Many factors have helped contribute to the obesity epidemic. But two of the most disturbing are the overconsumption of foods and beverages that are high in calories (energy dense) but low in nutritional value (nutrient poor), and the lack of physical activity.?In present modern society, most daily calories consumed by people come from foods that are not highly recommended, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines report. Among the top five are grain-based desserts (such as cakes, cookies, and doughnuts); soda, energy and sports drinks; and pizza. This has led to a situation in which many people are obese, but undernourished.?Of course, eating healthy isn’t always easy in today’s society. Foods high in sugar and salt are aggressively advertised and marketed. In some communities, it may also be easier and cheaper to purchase these foods than to get fresh fruits and vegetables. That’s why the 2010 Dietary Guidelines report is calling for more instruction on health, nutrition and cooking skills in schools; greater availability and access to affordable fresh produce in communities; and less sodium, added sugars, and solid fats in packaged foods and restaurant meals.
Adopting healthier diets
In the end, winning the battle against obesity and its associated health problems will require many people to adopt healthier habits. Here’s some of what the 2010 Dietary Guidelines recommend:
• Eat a more plant-based diet. This means putting emphasis on vegetables, cooked dry beans and peas, fruits, and whole grains which are not only filling and low in calories but also rich in the nutrients needed for overall good health. The new guidelines also recommend increasing intakes of seafood and fat-free and low-fat milk and consuming only moderate amounts of lean meats and poultry.
• Limit consumption of solid fats and added sugars. Solid fats include saturated fats and trans fats, which add extra calories to your diet and raise cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Saturated fats can be found in meat and dairy products, such as cheese and butter. Trans fats can be found in fried and baked foods such as french fries, doughnuts, cookies, chips, crackers, stick margarines, and shortenings. Added sugars are also in most baked goods and in many other products, including cereals, sodas, and other soft drinks. The latest dietary guidelines advise limiting saturated fats to less than seven percent of daily calories, avoiding commercially produced trans fats and minimizing consumption of added sugars.
• Cut back on sodium. In 2005, the dietary guidelines recommended that healthy adults limit sodium consumption to less than 2,300 mg. a day to help keep their blood pressure in check. That’s the equivalent of about one teaspoon of salt. But the 2010 update calls for reducing sodium intake to 1,500 mg. a day because many adults already have high blood pressure or are at higher risk of developing the condition because of their age, race or weight. The trouble is most people typically consume more than twice this amount of sodium each day, mostly from salt that’s been added to packaged foods. The best way to reduce the amount of sodium in your diet is to eat more fresh foods and fewer packaged and processed foods. Limiting the use of salt as a seasoning and going easy on sodium-laden condiments such as soy sauce, bottled salad dressings, and ketchup can also help.
• Get regular physical activity. The new guidelines advise meeting the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines. For adults, that means getting at least 20 hours and 30 minutes of moderate physical activity (such as brisk walking) or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous activity (such as running or jogging) each week.
Key features
Here are some other key features of the new guidelines:
• Clean up the food environment. The advisory committee said more emphasis should be put on the “food environment”: economic and social forces that shape food choices. The report points to research connecting obesity rates to the number of fastfood restaurants and convenience stores in a neighborhood. One suggestion: local zoning laws to separate fastfood restaurants from schools.
• Point the finger at soda. The advisory committee characterized the evidence linking sugar-sweetened beverages to obesity in children as strong, but rated the evidence for a connection among adults as limited or moderate.
• Don’t fret so much about vitamins except vitamin D. Most people in reasonable health who eat a reasonably good diet get an adequate quantity of important vitamins like A and E. As mentioned in a previous column, experts have concluded that a daily multivitamin “is unlikely to offer health benefits” to healthy people.
• An egg a day is okay. An egg contains a little over 200 mg. of cholesterol, which is under the current limit of 300 mg. However, cholesterol seems to have a more pronounced effect on cardiovascular risk for people with diabetes, so the daily cholesterol limit for them is 200 mg. and thus, diabetics should eat eggs less often.
• Yes to chocolate. It comes with a caution about caloric density but dark chocolate and cocoa got the nod from the advisory committee as possible reducers of cardiovascular disease. Part of the reason for the qualified endorsement is the committee’s position on stearic acid, the main fat on most chocolate. Stearic acid is a saturated fat but the committee said research has shown it shouldn’t be categorized as a cholesterol-increasing fat like other saturated fats.
Other features of these latest guidelines are the practical recommendations, such as avoid oversized portions; drink water instead of sugary beverages; make half your plate fruits and vegetables; cook and eat at home more often; use smaller plates to reduce portions; keep cut-up veggies on hand for quick snacks; and spend less time in front of the TV and computer.? Indeed, by following these new recommendations, you can make wise food choices and lower your risk of the chronic diseases affecting so many middle-aged and older Filipino men and women.
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To learn more, visit www.cnpp.usda.gov/DietaryGuidelines.