Dietary Guidelines

 The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 provide advice for making food choices that promote health, a healthy weight, and help prevent disease for healthy Americans, ages 2 and older. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) jointly publish them. The DGA are reviewed by a panel of scientists, updated if necessary, and published every 5 years. They form the basis for federal nutrition policy, education, outreach, and food assistance programs used by consumers, industry, nutrition educators, and health professionals.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 were released in January 2011 and are available at "dietaryguidelines" website. For the first rime, the guidelines address an unhealthy American public, with the majority of women and men classified as overweight or obese with high cholesterol and the rest at risk of becoming obese. This increases the urgency and significance associated with the translation and implementation of the DGA. The decision-making process and evidence relevant to each review is publicly available at www.nutritionevidencelibrary.gov.

The DCiAs recommendations support two major themes:

1. Maintain caloric balance to achieve and sustain a healthy weight by

• Controlling total calorie intake to manage body weight. For most people, this will mean consuming fewer calories by making informed food and beverage choices.

• Increasing physical activity and reducing time spent in sedentary behaviors.

2. Focus on nutrient-dense foods and beverages by

• Increasing intake of foods that are consumed below recommended amounts. For most people, this means choosing more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fatfree or low-fat milk and milk products, seafood, and oils.

• Reducing intake of foods and food components consumed in excessive amounts. For most people, this means consuming fewer foods and beverages high in solid fats (sources of saturated and trans fatty acids), added sugars, and sodium (i.e., consume these foods and beverages less often and in small amounts). If alcohol is consumed at all, it should be consumed in moderation and only by adults of legal drinking age.

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