New Dietary Guidelines Emphasize Healthy Eating over a Lifetime

Jan 07, 2016

A lifetime of healthy eating helps prevent chronic diseases like obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Together, the two federal agencies are responsible for releasing a new edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans every five years.

Research has shown that obesity and other chronic diseases come not only with increased health risks, but also at a high cost. Healthy eating is one of the most powerful tools we have to reduce the onset of disease.

The latest edition of the Dietary Guidelines for 2015-2010 focuses on three main tips to help Americans make decisions about healthy eating.

1. Eat for Health and for the Long Run
It is important to find a healthy eating pattern that is right for you. What is a "healthy eating pattern?"  It is one that includes everything you eat and drink over time, it should be adaptable to your taste preferences, your culture, traditions and budget; it should include a variety of nutritious foods like:

• A variety of vegetables: dark green, red and orange, legumes (beans and peas), starchy and other vegetables
• Fruits, especially whole fruit
• Grains, at least half of which are whole grain
• 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), soy products, and nuts and seeds
• Oils, including those from plants: canola, corn, olive, peanut, safflower, soybean, and sunflower. Oils also are naturally present in nuts, seeds, seafood, olives, and avocados.

Healthy eating patterns should also have some limits, such as:

• Limit added sugars. Less than 10% of your daily calories should come from added sugars, which are sugars and syrups that are added to foods or beverages when they are processed or prepared. This does not include naturally occurring sugars such as those consumed as part of milk and fruits.
• Limit saturated and trans fats. Less than 10% of your daily calories should come from saturated fats. Foods that are high in saturated fat include butter, whole milk, meats that are not labeled as lean, and tropical oils such as coconut and palm oil. Saturated fats should be replaced with unsaturated fats, such as canola or olive oil.
• Limit sodium. Adults and children ages 14 years and over should limit sodium to less than 2,300 mg per day, and children younger than 14 years should consume even less. Use the Nutrition Facts label to check for sodium, especially in processed foods like pizza, pasta dishes, sauces, and soups.

Examples of healthy eating patterns:
Healthy U.S. Style Eating Plan      Healthy Mediterranean Style Eating Plan      Healthy Vegetarian Style Eating Plan  

2. Start with Small Changes
Change is hard, there's no doubt about it.  It can be overwhelming at times.  But, when we focus on small improvements...one step at a time...eating healthy becomes more manageable. We have hundreds of choices to make every day about what to eat or drink, so think of each choice as an opportunity to take one of those baby steps. Reach for water instead of soda, or replace refined-flour bread with whole-grain bread. Consider this: almost 9 in 10 Americans get less than the recommended amount of vegetables. So, rather than trying to take on a whole new way of eating right from the start, just begin by finding new ways to incorporate more veggies to dishes you’re already making (check out our Recipe Center and our new Eat Well. Live Well. feature for ideas!).  

3. Support Healthy Choices for Everyone
Many Americans may need to make changes to their food choices and get more physical activity to stay healthy, but they shouldn’t have to do it alone. Everyone has a role to play in encouraging easy, accessible, and affordable ways to support healthy choices at home, school, work, and in the community. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans includes examples of strategies that support healthy choices, such as:

• At Home: try out small changes to find what works for you like adding more veggies to favorite dishes, planning meals and cooking at home, and incorporating physical activity into time with family or friends.
• Schools continue to improve the selection of healthy food choices in cafeterias and vending machines, provide nutrition education programs and school gardens, increase school-based physical activity, and encourage parents and caregivers to promote healthy changes at home.
• Workplaces can encourage walking or activity breaks; offer healthy food options in the cafeteria, vending machines, and at staff meetings or functions; and provide health and wellness programs and nutrition counseling.
• Communities can increase access to affordable, healthy food choices through community gardens, farmers’ markets, shelters, and food banks and create walkable communities by maintaining safe public spaces.
• Food retail outlets can inform consumers about making healthy changes and provide healthy food choices.

Even though the Dietary Guidelines focus on our eating habits, it is important to also remember physical activity! Regular physical activity is one of the most important things we can do to improve our health. According to the national Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity each week and should perform muscle-strengthening exercises on two or more days each week. Children ages 6 to 17 years need at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day, including aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and bone-strengthening activities.  Check out our Move Well section to help you get started increasing activity each day!

Here's to a Healthy 2016!

Information for this story comes from the full report, 2015-202 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.