Many Americans are aware of what they should do to improve their diet and health. The mantra is familiar — eat more fruits, vegetables, high-fiber whole grains and certain types of seafood and cut back on salt, sugar and saturated fats. Not enough people heed that advice. The result is that Americans are increasingly overweight and obese and, as a result, more prone to diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle and a poor diet.
The federal government is aware of the problem and has long been involved in providing information to correct it. The familiar food pyramid is the most prominent example of that campaign. Every five years, in fact, an advisory panel surveys the nation’s dietary habits and then suggests changes to the food pyramid and other federal projects and programs — including school lunch and other nutrition programs — to improve the U.S. diet.
This week, the panel made preliminary recommendations for revising those guidelines for the next five years. The panel specifically suggested that the government encourage Americans to reduce their daily salt intake from the currently recommended 2,300 milligrams to 1,500 daily. That is an ambitious goal; average daily consumption of salt now stands at 3,400 milligrams. The experts recognize the difficulty in achieving that goal.
The panel says it will be “challenging to achieve the lower level.” It does recommend that the reduction take place over time, though it offers no advice on how long that should be. Given Americans’ demonstrated propensity for ignoring dietary advice, more specific guidelines might be useful, or at least harder to disregard.
The panel also suggested that officials emphasize the importance of a balanced diet and improve nutrition education and cooking programs to promote consumption of healthy foods. They recommended, as well, expanded school-based emphasis on health, nutrition and the need for physical activity. The recommendations have merit, and should be incorporated into the final version of diet guidelines issued at year’s end.