Food Pyramid Falls...

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Oct 15, 2004
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April should be particularly interested in this. It allows for as many goats as you can eat.

New U.S. guide topples food pyramid
Officials update plan for healthy eating, exercise

By Andrew Martin
Washington Bureau
Published January 13, 2005


WASHINGTON -- The ubiquitous Food Guide Pyramid that has been the centerpiece of the federal government's nutrition advice for more than a decade was officially declared dead Wednesday.

In its place, federal officials unveiled the final draft of their blueprint for nutrition, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, which even some staunch critics hailed as a breakthrough. It lays the groundwork for a new food pyramid, to be released in a month or two.

The dietary guidelines, which were developed over the past year by a panel of nutrition experts, call for Americans to eat vastly more fruit and vegetables, bulk up on whole grains, and most important perhaps, limit intake of unhealthy fats, salt and added sugar.

The new guidelines--providing a much more specific plan of action than the old ones--also urge Americans to exercise at least 30 minutes a day and to consume only as many calories as they need.

The release of the dietary guidelines sets the stage for the much tougher task of selling the federal nutrition plan to the American public, which spends about $42 billion a year on diet plans yet remains collectively overweight.

Guide repackages old advice

"This is probably the best diet plan out there," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, who quipped that those who followed the recommendations would improve their looks.

"If you lose weight, it takes less time to shave in the morning," he added, saying that he was speaking from experience.

Despite Thompson's plugs for the dietary plan, it remained largely unclear how the federal government would convince the public to embrace the guidelines, which in essence repackage an age-old mantra: Exercise more and eat less.

"Every American is looking for NIH [the National Institutes of Health] to come up with that pill [to lose weight]," Thompson said. "It's not going to happen."

While praising the new guidelines, Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition advocacy group, said, "We need more than hopes and prayers to move people towards a healthy diet.

"Congress is really going to have to devote some money," he said. "We really don't see any big dollars coming along."

The guidelines, written primarily for health-care and nutrition professionals, are revised every five years and are used as the basis for federal nutrition policy, providing guidance for such projects as federally funded school lunch programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC.

The release of the dietary guidelines is part of a multipronged approach by the government to urge Americans to eat healthier food, with the ultimate goal of reducing obesity and diseases associated with excess weight, such as heart disease and diabetes.

Revised nutrition panel

Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, and half don't get enough exercise, Thompson said.

In coming months, the Food and Drug Administration is planning to unveil revisions to the nutrition facts panel on food packages to make it easier for consumers to use. Among the likely changes is use of household measures, such as cups or ounces, to describe serving sizes instead of the current variety of measurements.

Federal officials also plan to unveil a new consumer-friendly food guide that will be based on the 2005 dietary guidelines and will replace the Food Guide Pyramid, which was released in 1992 and had remained unchanged. .

The pyramid has been sharply criticized by some nutritionists for lumping healthy food in the same category as unhealthy food, and for providing fuzzy guidance on how much Americans should eat.

Carlos Camargo, Harvard University epidemiologist and a member of the advisory panel that revised the dietary guidelines, said, "We used to recommend that you base everything around [the food pyramid]. That is not present in anything you read today."

12 diet plans offered

Among the most significant changes in the new guidelines are 12 diet plans, as opposed to three in previous years, designed to fit people of different ages, sexes and sizes. The daily diets range from a 1,000-calorie plan for a youngster to a 3,200-calorie plan for an athlete.

The guidelines encourage nine servings of fruit and vegetable as part of a 2,000-calorie diet, upending the old "five-a-day" rule, and at least three servings of whole grains, as opposed to refined grains found in white bread. Three cups of fat-free or low-fat milk per day--or an equivalent dairy product--were also recommended.

The guidelines encourage consumption of foods rich in potassium, and recommend limiting sodium intake to one teaspoon a day, as well as curtailing consumption of foods with added sugars and fats and oils high in saturated fats or trans fatty acids.

The guidelines also introduce the idea of a "discretionary calorie allowance," meaning the amount of calories in sweets, fats or alcohol that someone could eat if he or she had already met the nutritional requirements for the day. For instance, a person on a 2,200-calorie diet might have 290 discretionary calories.

- - -

New dietary guidelines emphasize exercise

Federal officials issued new dietary guidelines Wednesday,

encouraging Americans to consume only as many calories as needed while exercising more.

DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT

- Balance calories consumed with those expended.

- To prevent gradual weight gain, over time, slowly decrease

calories consumed while increasing exercise.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

- To reduce the risk of chronic diseases, exercise at least

30 minutes at moderate intensity most days of the week.

- To prevent weight gain, increase exercise intensity and do 60

minutes per day. If trying to lose weight, increase exercise to up

to 90 minutes per day.

FOOD

- Eat 2 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables per day

(based on a 2,000-calorie diet).

- Eat at least 3 ounces of whole grain products per day,

with at least half of all grains consumed from whole grains.

- Consume 3 cups of fat-free or low-fat milk or equivalent

milk products per day.

FATS

- Fewer than 10 percent of calories should come from saturated fats.

- Total fat intake should be between 20 percent to 35

percent of calories, with most coming from polyunsaturated and

monounsaturated fats like those in fish, nuts and vegetable oils.

- When eating meat or poultry, look for lean or low-fat options.

CARBOHYDRATES

- Eat fiber-rich fruit, vegetables and whole grains.

- Choose food and beverages with few added sugars.

SODIUM

- Eat no more than 1 teaspoon of salt (2,300 milligrams

of sodium) per day.

ALCOHOL

- Women should drink no more than one alcoholic beverage per day; for men, no more than two.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture

Chicago Tribune


Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune

ONE TEASPOON OF SALT/DAY??? That's a deal breaker. I :heart: salt. Also, I have a problem with that alcoholic beverage limit. Do you think if I skip a few days I could double up?
 
do what I do, get an 200 kilogram gorilla for a mate - and trust me, you can eat whatever you want as long as you fuck that gorilla every night
 
hm.... i guess if your reversed it you'd get my diet, hm.. intriging
 
I try not to have any products with much salt in, I dunno why, it's not like I have any weight problems I just feel uncomfortable knowing I'm eating processed shit. I much prefer home cooked meals right now, and lots of fruit etc.

I never exercise but I do walk round for collectively maybe an hour a day, does that count?

(Not that I'm American and fat anyway)
 
Oh yeah and don't you find the people who dont need to worry about weight worry way more than the people who should do? Like I know this chick who's my age and is so fat she might have a heart attack at any moment and her deffinition of a diet is eating sausages and curry all the time, whereas all these thin chicks actually do diet.
 
Nemo said:
I try not to have any products with much salt in, I dunno why, it's not like I have any weight problems I just feel uncomfortable knowing I'm eating processed shit. I much prefer home cooked meals right now, and lots of fruit etc.

I never exercise but I do walk round for collectively maybe an hour a day, does that count?

(Not that I'm American and fat anyway)
i've been trying to eat more fruits every day. I've found that I actually feel better.
 
DirkPhoenix said:
Can I borrow someone's alcohol rations? I have a date tonight and I'd rather not remember what she looks like.
You can have mine. I'll be at home tonight using another kind of ration.
 
DW said:
That sodium restriction would kill me. You don't want to get between me and my salt shaker :mad:

I've seen that, it isn't pretty :eek:

They'd better not come after my sugar bowl :drool: