Dietary Guidelines for Americans

What are the five Dietary Guidelines? You should know these and understand what they mean.

1. Follow a healthy eating pattern across the lifespan. 2. Focus on variety, nutrient density, and amount. 3. Limit calories from added sugars and saturated fats and reduce sodium intake. 4. Shift to healthier food and beverage choices. 5. Support healthy eating patterns for all.

What is the most recent version (year)?

2015 - 2020

For "foods to limit" and "other components" there are some new things - what do the Dietary Guidelines say about sugar? Alcohol? Cholesterol? Caffeine? Trans fats? Sodium? Saturated fat? Eggs? Seafood?

Added sugars - less than 10% of calories Saturated fats - less than 10% of calories Trans fats - limit as much as possible Cholesterol - no specified limit Sodium - 2300 mg for adults - has been raised Alcohol - 1 drink/day for women and 2/day for men Caffeine - 3-5 cups Eggs - 3 oz/week - a good protein source Seafood - 8 oz/week - look for those high in EPA & DHA and low methyl mercury

Who is the target audience?

Americans ages 2 years and older, including those at increased risk of chronic disease

How do they affect federal programs?

Dietary Guidelines are applied to federal food, nutrition, and health policies and programs - and nutrition education materials for the public

The guidelines are "evidence-based" - what does this mean? Understand upon what the guidelines are based.

Guidelines are derived from OBJECTIVE data. They gather several research studies and examine them before submitting them as evidence to use as guidelines.

What is the main "theme" of the current Dietary Guidelines?

Healthy Eating Patterns! - Variety of nutrient-dense foods across and within all food groups in recommended amounts - Consume foods low in added sugars, fats, and sodium

What are examples of how guidelines #5 can be put into practice?

Home: meal planning, cooking, family physical activity, limited screen time School: healthy meals & snacks, menu labelling in cafeteria, nutrition education/school gardens, physical activity programs, active play, outreach to parents about making healthy choices at home Work: active breaks, healthy food options, walking meetings, health & wellness programs with nutrition counseling Community: community gardens, food banks, farmer's markets, walkable communities Food Retail: outreach to consumers about making healthy changes, access to healthy food options & choices

Who produces the Dietary Guidelines and how often are they updated?

Produced by HHS and USDA, updated every 5 years

What are main sources of sugars, saturated fat, sodium in the U.S. diet?

Sugars: beverages (not milk or 100% fruit juice), snacks & sweets Saturated fat: mixed dishes (pizza, burgers, etc.), snacks & sweets Sodium: mixed dishes, protein foods

Guideline #4 refers to "shifts" - based on what current U.S. dietary intake looks like relative to what is recommended, what needs to be shifted up and what needs to be shifted down?

Up: Vegetables Water Vegetable oil when cooking Seafood in meals twice per week in place of meat, poultry, or eggs Down: Refined grains or meats high in saturated fat and/or sodium Solid fats Beverages with added sugars Sodium

Define the purpose of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

• To provide evidence-based recommendations about the components of a healthy and nutritionally adequate diet • Focus on disease prevention rather than disease treatment • Inform Federal food, nutrition, and health policies and programs

Identify the 4 steps of the Nutrition Care Process - what are they and what happens in/what is the purpose of each (in brief)?

1. Nutrition Assessment - Obtain/collect timely & appropriate data - Analyze/interpret with evidence-based standards - Identify risk factors 2. Nutrition Diagnoses - Identify & label problem - Determine cause/contributing risk factors - Cluster signs & symptoms/defining characteristics 3. Nutrition Intervention - Formulate goals & determine plan of action - Implement nutrition intervention (care is delivered and actions are carried out) 4. Nutrition Monitoring & Evaluation - Monitor progress - Measure outcome indicators - Evaluate outcomes

What does a "healthy eating pattern" look like, i.e. what does it include and what does it limit?

Includes: - A variety of vegetables from all of the subgroups—dark green, red and orange, legumes (beans and peas), starchy, and other - Fruits, especially whole fruits - Grains, at least half of which are whole grains - Fat-free or low-fat dairy, including milk, yogurt, cheese, and/or fortified soy beverages - A variety of protein foods, including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes (beans and peas), and nuts, seeds, and soy products - Oils Limits: - Saturated fats and trans fats - Added sugars - Sodium