USDA and HHS Unveil 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

The U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human
Services (HHS) have published the 2015-2010 Dietary Guidelines for
Americans, which now emphasize overall dietary patterns as opposed
to nutrient quotas. Explaining that “people do not eat food groups and
nutrients in isolation but rather in combination,” the guidelines offer the
following “overarching” recommendations: (i) “follow a healthy eating
pattern across the lifespan”; (ii) “focus on variety, nutrient density,
and amount”; (iii) “limit calories from added sugars and saturated fats
and reduce sodium intake”; (iv) “shift to healthier foods and beverage
choices”; and (v) “support healthy eating patterns for all.”

Among other things, the Dietary Guidelines specify that a healthy diet
includes a variety of dark green, red, orange, and starchy vegetables as
well as legumes; whole fruits; grains and whole grains; fat-free or low-fat
dairy products and/or fortified soy beverages; a variety of proteins, such
as seafood, lean meats, poultry, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy; and
oils. The guidance also advises individuals to limit their added sugar
and saturated fat consumption to less than 10 percent of daily calories;
consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day; and moderate
their alcohol intake to less than one daily serving for women or two
for men.

Meanwhile, consumer groups have met the new guidelines with mixed
reviews. “The advice presented in the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
is sound, sensible and science-based,” said Center for Science in the
Public Interest (CSPI) Executive Director Michael Jacobson. “If Americans
ate according to that advice, it would be a huge win for the public’s
health. That said, the federal government’s basic nutrition advice has
remained largely unchanged for the past 35 years. The problem is that
the food industry has continued to pressure and tempt us to eat a diet of
burgers, pizzas, burritos, cookies, doughnuts, sodas, shakes, and other
foods loaded with white flour, red and processed meat, salt, saturated fat,
and added sugars, and not enough vegetables, fruit, and whole grains.”
See CSPI Press Release, January 7, 2016.

New York University Professor Marion Nestle, however, deems the
guidelines “a win for the meat, sugary drink, processed, and junk food
industries,” criticizing the lack of guidance concerning calories, portion
sizes and cholesterol. She has singled out the egg industry for allegedly
lobbying to have cholesterol advice removed from the guidelines and
takes issue with using “protein” as a catch-all for various products. “The
Guidelines use [‘protein’] as yet another euphemism for meat,” she
opined. “‘Protein’ lumps meat together with seafood, poultry, eggs, nuts,
seeds, and soy. But grains and dairy also have protein, so using this term
makes no nutritional sense and obfuscates the message to eat less meat.”
See Food Politics, January 7, 2016.

Issue 589