Dietary Guidelines For America

FROM: Michelle Moscato
SUBJECT: The 35 year failure of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
DATE: October 23, 2015

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans is a policy that was developed in order to ensure the health and wellness of the citizens of the United States. However, due to inept scientific research and evidence, these initial guidelines not only led to increased rates of obesity, but also the chronic diseases resulting from it causing millions of dollars in preventable healthcare costs. Despite revisions every 5 years and updated science, the government still writes the guidelines based on a “one size fits all” mentality. The future of the guidelines needs to be in evidence based science but on the level of the individual needs of the
Through hearings and expert testimony of doctors and scientists of the day, they developed a single, population wide guide that applied to all individuals regardless of their risk or needs. They labeled it the “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” and in 1990 advised that it be reviewed and updated every 5 years by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services (Rowe et al., 2011). This overarching guidance suggested that all citizens should eat a diet that reduced fat and cholesterol from animal products such as meat, whole milk, eggs, and butter and instead consume more grains, cereals, vegetable oils, fruits and vegetables. However, when Americans began to replace fat with starches and sugars were used to compensate for the lack of flavor in foods, not only did the rate of diseases such as diabetes increase but so did the rate of obesity. Food business used the guidelines to promote these starchy, sugary products as “healthy” according to the government. The guidelines have since been reworked with extensive science to become a complicated extension document no longer intended for consumers but for guidance for food manufactures and professionals only to be used for translating health initiatives to the
They encouraged citizens to make half their plate fruits and vegetables and decrease portions while limiting adding sugars and sodium (Melnick & Siddiqui, 2015). While this was a step in the right direction, it still did not address the major health issues that affect the majority of Americans. As of 2015, 117 million Americans have one or more preventable diseases and 2/3 of our population is overweight or obese At the end of 2015, the newest dietary policy is being released focusing on three dietary patterns to select from: the Healthy US diet, the Healthy Vegetarian diet and the Healthy Mediterranean diet (“Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines”, 2015). Only three dietary patterns for the whole population of people with different dietary needs, restrictions and cultures. Yet again, the guidelines are will be too complex for consumers to adapt for their own use and will be interpreted by industry and professionals to their needs. In order for the dietary guidelines to become effective at reducing obesity and it healthcare costs from chronic disease, the guidelines need to be individualized and adaptable to the needs of the citizen. It needs to be simplified. Tell the individual exactly what to