Here is a glance at what the Dietary Guidelines Policy Document contains.Although it is divided into chapters that focus on particular aspects of eating patterns, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 provides integrated recommendations for health. To get the full benefit, individuals are encouraged to carry out these recommendations in their entirety as part of an overall healthy lifestyle.
The Executive Summary describes the purpose, uses, and major concepts of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines.
While the target population continues to be Americans ages 2 years and older who are apparently healthy, the 2010 Guidelines are especially cognizant of the growing numbers of Americans, both children and adults, who are at increased risk for developing diet-related chronic disease. Two new overarching concepts were distilled from the DGAC report are highlighted in the Executive Summary: Maintain calorie balance over time to achieve and sustain a healthy weight; andFocus on consuming nutrient-dense foods and beverages.[Note: “Nutrient dense” has a very specific definition and is explained in another slide.]The 23 key recommendations are listed in the Executive Summary. The quantitative recommendations are expressed as average daily or weekly amounts to be met over time.
The report begins with an Introduction.
The introduction describes the development process; identifies the various uses of the Guidelines; explains their importance for health promotion and disease prevention; and highlights the heavy toll of diet-related diseases.
An example of one of those terms is “nutrient-dense” which is defined as foods and beverages that provide vitamins, minerals, and other substances that have positive health effects—with relatively few calories. The term “nutrient dense” indicates that the nutrients and other beneficial substances in a food have not been “diluted” by the addition of calories from added solid fats, added sugars, or added refined starches, or by solid fats naturally present in a food, such as the fat in meats, poultry, fluid milk, and other milk products, such as cheese. The fat in fluid milk fat is considered to be a “solid fat.” It is solid at room temperature, but is suspended in milk by the process of homogenization. Nutrient-dense foods and beverages are lean or low in solid fats, and minimize or exclude added solid fats, sugars, starches, and sodium. Ideally, they also are in forms that retain naturally occurring components, such as dietary fiber. All vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seafood, eggs, beans and peas, unsalted nuts and seeds, fat-free and low-fat milk and milk products, and lean meats and poultry—when prepared without adding solid fats, sugars, or salt—are nutrient-dense foods.
This figure illustrates the concept of nutrient-dense foods. (It is found in chapter 5 of the DGA policy document)The full length of the bars corresponds to the number of calories in a serving of the foods listed on the far left, which are not in nutrient-dense forms. The dark-green portion of the bars shows the number of calories that would be in the same food if it were in its nutrient-dense form. The lighter green portion shows how many additional calories are attributable to the naturally occurring solid fat in the ground beef, the breading and the frying fat in the chicken, the added sugars in the cornflakes, the frying fat in the potatoes, the added sugars in the applesauce, and the naturally occurring fat in the milk. The foods listed in the dark-green portions of the bars are all foods in their nutrient-dense form.[Foods in figure:Regular ground beef patty, 236 calories: extra lean ground beef patty, 184 calories, and beef fat, 52 caloriesBreaded fried chicken strips, 246 calories: Baked chicken breast, 138 calories, and breading and frying fat, 108 caloriesFrosted corn flakes cereal, 147 calories: cornflakes, 90 calories, added sugars 57 caloriesCurly french fried potatoes, 258 calories: baked potato, 117 calories, frying fat, 141 caloriesSweetened applesauce, 173 calories: unsweetened applesauce, 105 calories, added sugars, 68 caloriesWhole milk, 149 calories: fat-free milk, 83 calories, milk fat, 66 calories]
The importance of weight management is emphasized by placing the chapter on that topic first.
The overall environment has contributed to the obesity epidemic. Calorie balance over time is the key to weight management. Many Americans are in calorie imbalance – that is, they consume more calories than they expend. The number of calories consumed is the essential dietary factor that affects body weight. Understanding calorie needs, knowing the calorie content of foods and beverages, and recognizing the association between food and beverage intake and body weight are all important concepts that can promote calorie balance and weight management. Physical activity should also be considered when addressing weight management. Getting adequate amounts of physical activity conveys many health benefits independent of body weight. Another important point in this chapter is that the systematic review concluded there is strong evidence that when calorie intake is controlled, macronutrient proportion is not related to weight loss.
The top sources of calories have been estimated using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005-06. For this analysis and others like it found in the policy document in pie charts, foods and beverages reported in the survey were grouped into 97 categories. Here the categories were ranked according to calorie contribution to the diet. The number one calorie contributor in the diets of Americans ages 2 years is grain-based desserts, followed by yeast breads, chicken and chicken mixed dishes, soda and energy and sports drinks, and pizza. Although some of these are important sources of nutrients, others provide calories with few nutrients. Many of the foods and beverages most often consumed within these categories are high in solid fats and/or added sugars, thereby contributing excess calories to the diet. For example, grain-based dessertsare typically high in added sugars and solid fats; and chicken is often breaded and fried, and that adds a substantial number of calories to the chicken. [Additional information:Total mean intake = 2,157 kcal/dCalories from each of the top 5 sources:Grain-based desserts (138 kcal/d)Yeast breads (129 kcal/d)Chicken and chicken mixed dishes (121 kcal/d)Soda/energy/sports drinks (114 kcal/d)Pizza (98 kcal/d)Source: NHANES 2005-2006, Available at http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/diet/foodsources/ ]
Top calorie sources differ by age group. For example:Alcoholic beverages are a major calorie source for adults.Sugar-sweetened beverages are a greater calorie contributor among adolescents than younger children (ages 2-8).Fluid milk is a top calorie source for younger children.
Chapter 2 also identifies behaviors and practices that have been shown to help people manage their food and beverage intake and calorie expenditure and ultimately to manage body weight:Monitor food and beverage intake, physical activity, and body weight. Self-monitoring helps people become more conscious of what they eat and what they do. Reduce portion sizes. Prepare, serve, and consume smaller portions of foods and beverages, especially those high in calories.Make better choices when eating out. When eating out, choose smaller portions or lower-calorie options.Limit screen time. In addition to increasing physical activity, reducing sedentary time is important. Television viewing is directly associated with overweight and obesity.