Monday, June 28, 2010

Dietary Guidelines Need Public Comment

The USDA/FDA have released the report on the proposed 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. For 30 years, the U.S. has issued the Guidelines and the accompanying Food Guide Pyramid every five years. Together, these tools are designed to help Americans know what and how much food makes up the optimal diet. As cynical as some of us can be about the shape they ultimately take, they are valuable because they do contain input from experts, they are opened to public comment, and they do pass through multiple agencies for approval before they are released.

Predictably, the Guidelines recommended that Americans drp their daily sodium intake from 2300 mg to 1500 mg. The Guidelines authors realize, however, that it will take years for the American palate and marketplace to adjust to this level. There were some nice surprises in the Guidelines draft as well, such as recognition of omega-3 fatty acids and a focus on the overall diet.

A bit disappointingly, the document contained little emphasis on getting food assistance programs, including school lunch programs, up to speed with current science. There was also little mention of nutrition education, which is necessary in order for the public to reduce the nation's obesity levels.

It's still amazing, however, that the food and nutrition regulations many food assistance programs, including for school lunch, have not changed significantly since 1990. We have so much more knowledge on nutrition now than ever before and we ought to be applying it to the diets of our kids.

In September, a vote on Child Nutrition Reauthorization will update school lunch and other food assistance programs. Thankfully, the Guidelines are out and can help guide recommendations. Even more importantly, the Institute of Medicine made evidence-based recommendations to the USDA for updated school nutrition earlier this year. With both of these updated guides available, hopefully the Child Nutrition bill will give kids the best of what we know about food and health.

Since kids are our future, everyone benefits when they are healhy. The Dietary Guidelines draft is open for public comment right now and you can post a comment easily by going to www.dietaryguidelines.gov. Once on the page, go to the bottom and click on the "leave a comment button."

Having worked in Washington and witnessed first-hand that it's only the squeaky wheels that get the grease, I can't emphasize the importance of taking a minute to post a comment in support of new, up-to-date child nutrition regulations. It will at least tell the USDA that someone is watching!

No comments:

Post a Comment