Dietary Guidelines 2010

Every five years, the USDA and HHS release updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans....and today is that day.

Four Key Recommendations:
1. Balancing Calories to Manage Weight
2. Foods and Food Components to Reduce
3. Foods and Nutrients to Increase
4. Building Healthy Eating Patterns

What I liked:
- The word LIMIT is back, and specifically refers to sodium, solid fats (read saturated fats, like those found in meat products), added sugars and refined grains.
- Specific foods are emphasized (as opposed to nutrients)(and they are done so in this order): Vegetables, Fruit, Whole Grains, Fat-Free or Low-Fat Milk products, Seafood, LEAN meats, Eggs, Beans and Peas, Nuts and Seeds
- In the specific messages for consumers: Make half your plate fruits and vegetables. This particular message is very strong, easily understandable to consumers and cannot be beat. I hope this particular message gets driven home the hardest.
- Also included in the consumer handout is the message to Drink Water instead of Sugary Drinks. See comments above.

What was disappointing:
- What happened to the strong recommendation about eating a plant-based diet?
- The message on sodium is very important, but it's asking a lot. It will require industry buy in, and I'd prefer to see an equally strong message about salt (what people consume) and salty snacks and convenience foods in particular.
- The Calorie Message: Do consumers get this? I think they don't and that it's a waste of space. Consumers don't count calories. The DGs would be better served talking about specific foods and food groups, not calories and nutrients (see comments on sodium vs. salt).
- The Building Healthy Eating Patterns is similarly weak. It also references calorie intake. Not very clear for consumers.
- The further reduction in Saturated Fat intake was not adopted. I think this was a trade-off in terms of emphasis...a greater emphasis was on sodium. It makes sense, but still.
- In the executive summary and key messages for consumers, the Physical Activity Guidelines were not specifically referenced. Getting more physical activity and reducing sedentary behavior is a good message- and it was highlighted- but the specific recommendations are more clear. How much and what kind of physical activity one does matters- and this needs to be communicated, repeatedly, to consumers.

So, I look forward to seeing what happens to the MyPyramid and other consumer messages. We'll see what happens...and how other leaders in nutrition and food policy respond!

Find further information, the Executive Summary and Consumer-Specific messages here.