The federal government just released the 7th edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans–their nutritional guidelines created to promote health, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and to help reduce the epidemic of obesity that is crippling the country.
More than one-third of children and more than two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese, thus, the new Dietary Guidelines places a stronger emphasis (than prior editions) on reducing calorie consumption and increasing physical activity. The state of our national health is pretty abysmal, and most of it can be linked to our eating habits. How’s this for a summary? 81.1 million Americans have cardiovascular disease; 74.5 million have hypertension; 24 million have diabetes; almost one in two will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime; one out of every two women and one in four men ages 50 years and older will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime.
According to Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, “These new and improved dietary recommendations give individuals the information to make thoughtful choices of healthier foods in the right portions and to complement those choices with physical activity.” Not for nothing, but I’m not sure how much help a 95-page report can really offer.
Essentially, we have a 95-page report versus the $1.6 billion dollars spent annually by food makers to market junk food.
In the late 1970s, 15 percent of adults were obese. In 2008, 34 percent of adults were obese. The food supply has changed dramatically over the
past 40 years. Foods available for consumption increased in all major food categories from 1970 to 2008. Average daily calories available per person in the marketplace increased by approximately 600 calories.