Thoughts for food -- new diet guidelines considered

By Terri Coles

Toronto (Reuters) - Every five years, the U.S. government issues revised guidelines for how you should eat, and thoughts are now going into new recommendations to be released two years from now.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) work together to revise the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a document that is the cornerstone of the government's nutrition policy and education.

Americans probably best know the dietary guidelines for their information on healthy eating, but they also provide the scientific basis for government funding, nutrition policy, dietary education and public health initiatives. They also are used by the food industry in marketing and product development, because they emphasize particular areas of interest for consumers.

Because of their wide reach, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are an important tool for fighting obesity and conditions like heart disease, from government policies right down to the food choices you make in your home.

The first edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans was released in 1980, and it has been revised every five years since then. The changes reflect changes in scientific knowledge and medical opinion, such as an increased emphasis on whole grains or guidelines to focus on reducing dietary fat and added sugar.

The next revisions for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are due in 2010, and the process is now underway. The USDA and HHS have announced their intent to put together a Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which will determine if a revision to the 2005 guidelines is needed; if so, it will then develop recommendations for changes to be brought to the USDA and HHS.

Along with general nutrition advice, the USDA and HHS have indicated that they are looking for advice from experts in epidemiology, nutrition biochemistry, physiology and the prevention of chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. They will also pay particular attention to obesity, which has increased in Americans over the past thirty years. Two-thirds of adults in the U.S. are now either obese or overweight.

A lot has changed on the dietary landscape since the 2005 edition: added nutrients like omega-3s and probiotics are now commonplace, organic foods continue to grow in popularity and sales, and the accepted conventional wisdom of the value of a low-fat diet has been questioned. The guidelines have to make sense of these messages while satisfying industry, medical and scientific concerns.

A new edition of the dietary guidelines should focus on simplification and eliminating inconsistencies, said Parke Wilde, a food economist who blogs at U.S. Food Policy. The last edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released in 2005, was more complicated than previous editions, Wilde wrote at U.S. Food Policy, and focused more on nutrients than specific foods, when an emphasis on real foods would be preferable.

"Alongside any recommendation about a nutrient, the Guidelines should immediately explain the leading food sources of that nutrient," Wilde wrote. "For example, saturated fat comes predominantly from meat, butter, and cheese, and to a lesser extent from vegetable oils."

As well, the guidelines should clarify its messages around advertising to help consumers decipher nutritional marketing messages, Wilde advised on the blog. Foods like milk and meat are often advertised directly to consumers via industry-run programs that promote increased consumption. And many foods are now marketed under a variety of labeling systems that promote their health benefits or added nutrients. It's important for the guidelines to explain which of these messages might be inconsistent with its recommendations, Wilde wrote.

Nutrients are likely to be of particular focus in the new guidelines, said Dr. Katherine A. Beals, associate professor at the University of Utah, at the International Association of Culinary Professionals conference last year. Beals singled out omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and fiber as nutrients of particular interest.

What remains to be seen is whether or not the new recommendations will find their way into American kitchens; previous studies have indicated that they don't, at least not to the degree suggested by the Dietary Guidelines. A report by the USDA found that Americans do not meet the dietary recommendations, and a study by researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York questioned the benefit of the guidelines.

The Yeshiva University study, published in January in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, said that writers for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans should use explicit standards of evidence in making their nutritional recommendations, and that previous recommendations may have actually had a negative impact on public health. For example, the 1995 dietary recommendation to lower fat intake has been followed by a rise in carbohydrate consumption, and a subsequent rise in obesity. Care must be taken to ensure that the same mistakes aren't repeated in the 2010 guidelines, the researchers advised.

The first meeting of the advisory committee will be held this month, on October 30 and 31. The public can also comment on the process and the 2010 guidelines until the advisory committee completes its report: www.usda.gov/

Do you follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans? Let us know: HealthMatters@reuters.com