Page 68 - Winter2014
P. 68

public has already been subject to the unintended  sential nutrition from wholesome, nourishing foods would not only provide
         effects of policy established by the USDA and  the foundation for good health, they would finally provide what has been
         DHHS without the support of sufficient evidence.  missing from the past thirty-five years of federal nutrition policy: dietary
         The world simply cannot withstand the conse-  guidance that works―for all Americans.
         quences if the DGA’s impact on the environment
         is similar to its impact on obesity and chronic  Adele Hite is director and co-founder of Healthy Nation Coalition, a non-
         disease.                                  profit health advocacy organization dedicated to health for all through
                                                   equitable access to food and knowledge. She is also a registered dietitian
         WHAT CAN BE DONE INSTEAD?                 and PhD candidate in communication, rhetoric, and digital media at North
             In 1977, the Dietary Goals presented a single  Carolina State University. She has master's degrees in English education
         perspective on food and health to the public as  and public health nutrition and has pursued graduate studies in nutrition
         if it were a commonsense approach to nutrition  epidemiology. Her current research involves a critical examination of the
         grounded firmly in science and applicable to all  U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
         Americans. This was not the case. However,
         there is such an approach available to the lead-  REFERENCES
         ership at USDA and DHHS. Dietary recom-   1.    U.S. Department of Agriculture, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. 2010 Dietary
                                                       Guidelines for Americans Backgrounder: History and Process [Internet]. 2011 [cited 2011 Jan
         mendations that focus on a food-based guidance   31]. Available from: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/PolicyDoc/
         that assists Americans in acquiring adequate   2.    Backgrounder.pdf
                                                       Kennedy E. United States Department of Agriculture Public Meeting [Internet]. Mar 10, 2000.
         essential nutrition is based in solid, non-contro-  Available from: http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dgac/pdf/pubmtng.pdf
         versial science and is equally applicable to all   3.    U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary
                                                       Guidelines for Americans, 2010 [Internet]. 7th ed. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
         Americans. Although scientific understanding of   Office; 2011 [cited 2010 Jan 31]. Available from: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/DGAs2010-Policy-
         essential nutrition is not complete by any means,   4.    Document.htm
                                                       Taubes G. Good calories, bad calories: challenging the conventional wisdom on diet, weight
         it is nevertheless supported by evidence that has   control, and disease. New York: Knopf; 2007.
         stood the test of time with little controversy. All   5.    Teicholz N. The big fat surprise: why meat, butter, and cheese belong in a healthy diet. New York:
                                                       Simon & Schuster; 2014.
         Americans require essential nutrition; without   6.    National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Morbidity and Mortality: 2007 Chart Book on Car-
         exception, inadequate intake results in diseases   diovascular, Lung, and Blood Diseases [Internet]. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and
                                                       Human Services, National Institutes of Health; 2007 [cited 2011 Sep 24]. Available from: http://
         of deficiency. It is not necessary to eliminate,   www.nhlbi.nih.gov/resources/docs/07-chtbk.pdf
         restrict or modify culturally traditional foods   7.    Ogden CL, Carroll MD. Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and extreme obesity among adults:
                                                       United States, trends 1976-1980 through 2007-2008. [Internet]. Hyattsville, MD: National Center
         under the essential nutrition paradigm.       for Health Statistics; 2010 Jun [cited 2011 Sep 1]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/
             Focusing on essential nutrition is an ap-  8.    hestat/obesity_adult_07_08/obesity_adult_07_08.pdf
                                                       Levenstein H. Fear of food: a history of why we worry about what we eat. Chicago: Univ Of
         proach that includes and celebrates a wide variety   9.    Chicago Press; 2013.
                                                       Lappé FM. Diet for a small planet. 10th anniversary ed., completely rev. & updated. New York:
         of food traditions. Such guidance would shift the   Ballantine Books; 1982. 496 p.
         focus of public health nutrition towards general   10.   Butz EL. An Emerging, Market-Oriented Food and Agricultural Policy. Public Adm Rev. 1976
                                                       Mar;36(2):137.
         health and wellness, and away from weight and   11.   Pyle G. Raising less corn, more hell: the case for the independent farm and against industrial
                                                       food.1st ed. New York: Public Affairs; 2005. 229 p.
         other surrogate markers like cholesterol lev-  12.   Oppenheimer GM, Benrubi ID. McGovern’s Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human
         els and blood pressure, leaving those areas of   Needs Versus the: Meat Industry on the Diet-Heart Question (1976–1977). Am J Public Health.
                                                       2013 Nov 14;104(1):59–69.
         concern for the healthcare setting. Importantly,   13.   Austin JE, Hitt C. Nutrition intervention in the United States: cases and concepts. Cambridge,
         guidance that emphasizes adequate essential   Mass: Ballinger Pub. Co; 1979. 387 p.
         nutrition would be clear, concise, and useful   14.   Hegsted M. Washington - Dietary Guidelines [Internet]. 1990 [cited 2011 Jan 24]. Available from:
                                                       http://www.foodpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/Hegsted.pdf
         to the general public. Contradictory messages   15.   Peretti J, Sahota M. The Men Who Made Us Fat. BBC Two; 2012.
         about nutrition―unavoidable when most dietary   16.   Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs of the United States Senate. Dietary goals for
                                                       the United States [Internet]. 2nd ed. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office; 1977 [cited
                                                       2013 Aug 1]. Available from: http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000325810
         guidance lacks a strong scientific basis because it   17.   Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, United States Senate. Dietary Goals for the
         simply echoes the DGA―have led to widespread   United States: Supplemental Views. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office; 1977.
         general confusion and a lack of confidence in the   18.   American Medical Association. Dietary goals for the United States: statement of The American
                                                       Medical Association to the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, United States Sen-
         science of nutrition.  The proliferation of “food   ate. R I Med J. 1977 Dec;60(12):576–81.
                          59
         rules” that stem from DGA guidance have left   19.   Harper AE. Dietary goals-a skeptical view. Am J Clin Nutr. 1978 Feb;31(2):310–21.
                                                   20.   Weil WB Jr. National dietary goals. Are they justified at this time? Am J Dis Child 1960. 1979
         many consumers frustrated by the feeling that the   Apr;133(4):368–70.
         standards for “healthy eating” are unreachable,   21.   Broad W. Jump in funding feeds research on nutrition. Science. 1979 Jun 8;204(4397):1060–1.
                                                   22.   Jacobson NL. The Controversy over the Relationship of Animal Fats to Heart Disease. BioScience.
         even as they strive to meet those standards.    1974 Mar;24(3):141–8.
                                                60
         DGA recommendations based on adequate es-  23.   Smil V. Coronary Heart Disease, Diet, and Western Mortality. Popul Dev Rev. 1989 Sep;15(3):399.
                                                   24.   Truswell AS. Some problems with Cochrane reviews of diet and chronic disease. Eur J Clin Nutr.
         64                                         Wise Traditions                                WINTER 2014                                                                Wise Traditions




   145881_text.indd   64                                                                                      12/23/14   12:16 AM
   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73