NYTimes Article: U.S. Diet Guide Puts Emphasis on Weight Loss

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U.S. Diet Guide Puts Emphasis on Weight Loss

By MARIAN BURROS

Published: January 13, 2005

WASHINGTON Jan. 12 - The federal government issued new dietary

guidelines for Americans on Wednesday, and for the first time since

the recommendations were introduced in 1980, they emphasize weight

loss as well as healthy eating and cardiovascular health.

The guidelines, which follow several years of reports that Americans

are fatter than ever, recommend eating many more fruits and

vegetables, more low-fat milk, more whole grains and increasing

exercise to as much as an hour and a half a day. But some critics

question whether they will make any difference in an increasingly fat

America.

In announcing the guidelines Wednesday, Ann M. Veneman, the

agriculture secretary, and Tommy , the secretary of health and

human services, sounded more like diet gurus than cabinet members. Ms.

Veneman said that Americans spent $42 billion a year on diet and

health books, indicating the nation's desire to slim down. Mr.

characterized the guidelines as the government's version of a

diet book.

" Tonight eat only half the dessert, " Mr. said. " And then go

out and walk around the block. And if you are going to watch

television get down and do 10 push-ups and 5 sit-ups. "

The food industry has already begun to offer more products with whole

grains, fewer calories and smaller sizes.

Even critics of government nutrition policies applauded many of the

changes, including recommendations that Americans eat less added

sugars and less trans fats. But some said they were disappointed that

no limits were set for the amount of those substances people should

eat.

For example, the guidelines recommend that consumers limit trans fat,

partly hydrogenated vegetable oils that have been found to be worse

for the body than even saturated fat. But while the advisory committee

report that was the basis for guidelines capped intake of trans fat at

1 percent of total calories, that limit was not included in the

recommendations.

That was a clear victory for food manufacturers who rely on

hydrogenated oils for a variety of processed foods, and who lobbied

against the numeric limit. While many companies are eliminating trans

fats from their products, the Agriculture Department has estimated

that they are in 40 percent of processed foods.

The guidelines were a matter of intense lobbying by industry and

advocacy groups over the past year.

The advisory committee, which recommended more dairy products, cited a

report, partly financed by the dairy industry, that found that low-fat

dairy products helped people lose weight.

After lobbying by the sugar industry, the Department of Health and

Human Services helped persuade the World Health Organization in 2003

to eliminate a recommendation that sugar account for no more than 10

percent of calories.

But the final recommendation on sugar in the guidelines is actually a

bit stronger than the one in the advisory committee report, which said

only to choose carbohydrates wisely. The new guidelines say people

should consume foods and beverages with little added sugars.

Dr. on, the vice president of scientific and technical

affairs for the American Beverage Association, a trade group, said in

an interview Wednesday that there was no proof that people gained

weight because they consumed added sugar or lost weight when they cut

back. Dr. on said he objected to the guidelines' assertion that

studies indicated that beverages with sugar and other caloric

sweeteners made people gain weight.

But Dr. Brownell, director of the Yale Center for Eating and

Weight Disorders and a prominent food industry critic, said that over

all, he was pleased. " These guidelines are a clear step ahead of where

previous ones were, " Dr. Brownell said. " The issues on weight control

are more specific than in the past, specifically with exercise and the

suggestions on limiting added sugars and caloric sweeteners and things

like soft drinks. "

Still, he said, specific guidelines for sugars and trans fats would

have been better.

Among the changes in the guidelines is a call for whole grains to make

up half the grains in people's diets, at least three ounces every day.

The daily servings of fruits and vegetables rose to nine, from five.

The guidelines recommend three cups of low-fat or fat-free dairy

products a day, up from two cups.

Saturated fat and cholesterol recommendations remain the same: 10

percent of calories from saturated fat and less than 300 milligrams a

day of cholesterol. But while the government previously recommended

that fat account for no more than 30 percent of total calories, the

current recommendation is a range of from 20 percent to 35 percent.

Maximum levels of sodium have been reduced from 2,400 milligrams a day

to 2,300, which is about one teaspoon a day.

Previously, the government recommended a half hour of exercise a day.

The new guidelines say that is a minimum and that 60 minutes a day of

moderate to vigorous exercise is needed to keep from gaining weight.

Sixty to 90 minutes are needed to lose weight. Activities could

include walking, bicycling and hiking.

The biggest question is what impact these guidelines will have. They

will be used to recreate or replace the food pyramid, the government's

graphic depiction of a proper diet. The new version is expected in a

month or two.

But whether consumers will use, or even be aware of, the guidelines

remains to be seen.

" I don't think many people read them or understand them, " Dr. Brownell

said, " because the government puts very little muscle into marketing

them. If you ask 10 people on the street do they know about this or

previous guidelines no one will know anything, but if you ask them

what candy melts in your mouth not in your hand, 9 out of 10 will

know. "

Federal school lunch programs, and other federal food programs, must

abide by the guidelines. But Ellen Haas, a former Agriculture

Department official, said about 30 percent of the government

subsidized lunches at school did not follow government guidelines and

were high in fat, salt and sugar.

At the moment the two agencies responsible for the guidelines, the

Agriculture Department and the Department of Health and Human

Services, have earmarked no money for promotion. Nor have they begun

developing partnerships with private industry to disseminate the

information in the guidelines.

Asked at a news conference introducing the guidelines whether the

government had any plans to limit advertising and marketing of

less-healthy food to children, Mr. called advertising a form

of free speech and said the administration " would not in any way

curtail people's freedom " to say what they wanted.

Kim Severson contributed reporting from New York for this article.