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Times have changed. In 1969, the first National Nutrition Summit declared a no-holds-barred war on
hunger. Last month, government officials and nutrition experts at the second summit pinned the
nation’s nutrition woes on obesity.
People still go hungry, but more and more people have the mixed blessing of too much food and too
little exercise. The number of overweight people has doubled since 1969 to more than half of
all Americans, and one-quarter of adults are obese, according to the Food and Drug
Administration. Add a slew of worthless crash diets buzzing through the media these days, and
it’s no wonder people gain weight and can’t shed it.
The figures
Fact is, the best way to get America’s pre-Information Age figure back is through exercise and
a balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, according to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA). If this sounds familiar, you’re in the minority: Only 12 percent of
Americans eat a good diet. Sixty percent of adults don’t get enough exercise, and 25 percent
never leave the couch at all. Each year, more than $68 billion is funneled into obesity-related
illnesses, representing 6 percent of the nation’s total healthcare bill.
Enough numbers. What’s the government doing about it? For starters, it’s releasing the
fifth edition of the nation’s dietary guidelines, which are revised every five years. This
edition underscores the health benefits of eating whole grain foods and the need for both adults
and children to log 30 minutes of daily exercise. It also outlines how to best determine
one’s ideal weight. In addition, the USDA announced a research initiative designed to
ascertain why people choose the food they do. Another initiative will slap mandatory nutrition
labels with fat, calorie, and cholesterol information on packaged meat and poultry.
Alternative views
This is a start, but not enough according to such watchdog groups as the Center for Science in the
Public Interest, a nonprofit supported by one million member-subscribers and foundation grants. It
faults the new guideline’s statement that people should “moderate” their sugar
intake. While this isn’t a green light to inhale Pop Tarts, it falls short of more stringent
measures prescribed by an independent panel of nutritionists tasked with revising the dietary
guidelines.
According to an article published by the New York Times, the panel originally wanted to
advise people to limit, not just moderate, their sugar intake. Limit, moderate, what’s the
difference? Quite a bit, according to 30 senators (primarily from sugar farming states) who fired
off a letter to the USDA warning the agency to lighten up. When it comes to public policy, the
difference between “limit” and “moderate” can mean millions to the sugar
industry. Although the average citizen might not care what the feds wants them to eat, the dietary
guidelines dictate what people under the government’s care eat. Military personnel, school
kids, prisoners—more than 53 million people a day—eat meals based on the guidelines, so
a little less sugar in an elementary student’s lunch means a lot less money in the sugar
industry’s coffers. So that’s why you should only moderate, instead of severely
limit, your sugar intake.
Mixed motives
Enlightening, but that’s politics 101: Big money speaks loudly. The Center for Science in the
Public Interest is also lobbying for nutrition information labels on menus, a restriction on food
and beverage marketing campaigns, and taxes on fatty foods. This latter mandate, the so-called
Twinkie tax, could raise more than $1 billion annually for health promotion campaigns, according
to a joint study by the Center and a Yale University professor. No word on whether this has
attracted much congressional support.
Also from the Nutrition Summit, the USDA hopes to determine which popular diet—low-fat or
low-carbohydrate—is a better, safer way to lose weight. It seems the government wants to
shed light on the rabid wars waged by the nation’s diet gurus, with cardiologist Robert
Atkins and his low-carb diet in one corner, and Dean Ornish and his low-fat diet in the other.
Government studies take awhile, so you’ll have to wait for the results, but perhaps you can
stick with the good ol’ exercise-and-sensible-diet routine in the
meantime.
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