By Maryann Birmingham
“The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) is congressionally mandated under the 1990 National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act (public law 101-445, Sect 301 [7 U.S.C. 5341], Title 111). The DGA is required to be based on the preponderance of current scientific and medical knowledge and to be released by the Secretaries of the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) every 5 years. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans is the current Federal nutrition policy document. The process for revising the guidelines for 2015 is currently underway”.
The Guidelines are intended for Americans ages 2 years and over, including those at increased risk of chronic disease and provide the basis for federal food and nutrition policy and education initiatives. “The ultimate goal of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is to improve the health of our Nation’s current and future generations by facilitating and promoting healthy eating and physical activity choices so that these behaviors become the norm among all individuals.”
The DGA encourages Americans to focus on eating a healthy diet including foods and beverages that help achieve and maintain a healthy weight, promote health, and prevent disease. The Guidelines also provide consumer tips on how to balance calories, which foods to increase and which foods to decrease to balance your calories by eating less food and being more active, enjoy the foods you’re eating and avoid oversize portions. Foods you should increase include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat milk. Foods you should decrease are foods with high levels of sodium, fats and sugar including sugary beverages.
The DASH eating plan is consistent with the Dietary Guidelines by recommending adherence to the Mediterranean –type eating patterns/diet. It is rich in fruits, vegetables, fat-free/low-fat milk and milk products, whole grains, fish, poultry, seeds, and nuts. It contains less sodium, sweets, added sugars, sugary beverages, fats, and red meats than the typical American diet. Research on eating patterns, (Mediterranean and DASH diets) has documented health benefits by following the recommendations of those diets and their substantial health benefits. Everyone can use these healthy eating patterns to suit their personal and cultural preferences.
“We all have a role in this movement to make America healthy. By working together through programs, agency partnerships and with policy makers, we can improve the health of the current generation and help give future generations a better chance to live healthy and productive lives.”
The current Federal nutrition policy document is available at www.DietaryGuidelines.gov. Resources to help communicate the Dietary Guidelines including consumer messages, tools and education materials (My Plate 10 Tips sheets) are available at www.MyPlate.gov, www.DietaryGuidelines.gov and www.Health.gov.
Note: Excerpts from this article were taken from Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010.
Maryann Birmingham is a Community Nutrition Educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s Family Health and Wellness Program. She can be reached at 631-727-7850 ext. 356 or at mab422@cornell.edu.