New Dietary Guidelines, New Opportunities
You know that old proverb "The devil's in the details"? In the case of the new Dietary Guidelines, that "devil" can be summed up in one word: action. What good are guidelines if we don't put them to work?
Like its earlier versions, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 is intended primarily for use by policymakers, healthcare providers, nutrition professionals and educators.
The intent is to summarize and synthesize knowledge about individual nutrients into an interrelated set of recommendations for healthy eating that can be adopted by the public. Viewed broadly, Dietary Guidelines recommendations rest on two basic concepts:
· Maintain calorie balance over time to achieve and sustain a healthy weight.
· Focus on consuming nutrient-dense foods and beverages.
The last chapter in the recently published Dietary Guidelines for American, 2010, closes with the observation that meeting our goals "will require comprehensive and coordinated system-wide approaches . . . that engage every level of society and reshape the environment so that the healthy choices are the easy, accessible, and desirable choices for all." That means it's everybody's job.
While the actual recommendations put forth in the 2010 guidelines are not all that different from those found in past editions, they are the first to be entirely evidence based and thus bear a new mantle of gravitas and credibility. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines can boast of some other firsts as well. For example:
· The guidelines address a population in which 72.3% of women and 64.1% of men are overweight or obese.
· Some recommendations focus on dietary needs among vulnerable populations, such as pregnant women, babies and infants
· Two new chapters address total diet and translation/implementation issues.
I believe that these unique features provide a great opportunity for nutrition professionals and our partners in the food and beverage industry to take a fresh look at the Dietary Guidelines. For example, I recently participated in a webinar offered by the National Dairy Council during which experts examined current research and the alignment between dairy products and the new Dietary Guidelines goals. This information - these details - is what we as nutrition professionals need to bring the Dietary Guidelines to life. Bravo to the Dairy Council for its Dietary Guidelines Resource Center.
I have also noticed that some companies have wasted no time in identifying portions of the Dietary Guidelines with which they can align new products - ConAgra and Weight Watchers, for example - while also promoting the core messages of the guidelines.
We are in a transitional - perhaps even transformational - time in the evolution of nutrition's place in everyday life. If ever there were a teachable moment, surely this is one! Let's align our forces and get down to details!
