Source:
Summary:
Researchers
call on the American federal government to drop restrictions on total fat
consumption in the forthcoming 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
In a Viewpoint published in the Journal
of the Medical Association (JAMA), researchers from the Friedman School of
Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University and Boston Children's
Hospital call on the federal government to drop restrictions on total fat
consumption in the forthcoming 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Co-authors Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Dr.P.H., dean of the Friedman School, and David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D., director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children's Hospital, highlight a key, but overlooked,
By the end of this year, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) will write the final Dietary Guidelines for Americans, referring to the
DGAC report for guidance. The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are
scheduled to be published later this year.
"Placing limits on total fat intake has
no basis in science and leads to all sorts of wrong industry and consumer
decisions," Mozaffarian said. "Modern evidence clearly shows that
eating more foods rich in healthful fats like nuts, vegetable oils, and fish
have protective effects, particularly for
For obesity prevention, the DGAC recommends
shifting the focus from total fat intake to adoption of a healthier food-based
dietary pattern with more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seafood and
beans; and fewer meats, sugars, and refined grains. "When U.S. guidelines healthy high
To maximize success, Mozaffarian and Ludwig
call on a wide range of other government agencies and programs to also lift the
limit on total fat. This includes the National School Lunch program, which
recently banned whole milk while keeping sugar-sweetened non-fat milk on
cafeteria menus; the FDA, which regulates health claims and food package
labeling and remains strongly low-fat focused; and the National Institutes of
Health, whose guidelines on healthy diets for families and children classify
fat-free creamy salad dressing and trimmed beef and pork as foods to "eat
almost any time" while being cautious about eating vegetables cooked with
added fat, nuts, vegetable oil and olive oil.
"From agriculture to food producers to
school cafeterias to restaurants, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans serve as
a beacon for countless dietary choices in the public and private sector,"
Mozaffarian said. "With obesity and chronic disease impacting public health
so deeply, we can't miss this critical opportunity to improve the food supply.
The USDA and HHS must use the 2015 guidelines to send the message that limiting
total fat provides no benefits and actually leads to confusion and bad dietary
choices."
Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided
by Tufts University. Note:
Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
1. Dariush Mozaffarian,
MD, DrPH; David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD. : jama .
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