DGAC 2015 Recommendations for Action

The official position seems to be that:

If you are already healthy, the recommended low-fat and high-carbohydrate diet is the best diet.

On any diet, you need to control the number of calories you consume, so that they are equal to the number of calories you burn.

If your weight is still a problem, you need to exercise more.

Actions for Individuals and Households

It will take concerted, bold action ... to achieve and maintain healthy dietary patterns, and the levels of physical activity needed to promote a healthy U.S. population.

This will entail dramatic paradigm shifts ... to achieve a population-wide "culture of health" ... both at home and away from home.

Health care professionals

Health care and public health professionals would embrace a new leadership role in prevention, convey the importance of lifestyle behavior change to their patients/clients.

38 Years of Dietary Guidelines Failure

Nina Teicholz, claims that the D.G.A.C. failed to adequately consider two relatively recent findings in nutrition science: first, that eating a low-carbohydrate diet may help control certain health conditions, notably Type 2 diabetes and obesity, and second, that saturated fats may not be as catastrophically unhealthy as previously supposed.

Tom Vilsack, tells us that the guidelines are preventative, and are intended only for healthy people.

Since about half the adult population are developing metabolic syndrome, are they considered "unhealthy" and therefore, perhaps, the guidelines should not apply to them?

If we can agree that for healthy people, a mixed diet, exercise and a little calorie restriction is the best policy. What happens if over a lifetime, people eat too many of the recommended carbohydrates and develop an intolerance to them?

In a modern society when food is always available, that seem to be what's happening. We develop carbohydrate intolerance or perhaps it should be called insulin resistance. Prof. Tim Noakes, claims that this is the most important medical disorder of the population.

Obesity is therefore a lifestyle disorder, caused excessive carbohydrate consumption over a long time, creating a hormone disorder, that leads to obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Once you understand that, you can begin to look for a solution. The New Atkins Diet, or the Banting Diet, are both solutions to the obesity problem. But if you want long term better health, developing a Banting Lifestyle, or exploring nutritional ketosis, is the suggested better option.

Think prevention

Know your lifestyle-related health risk profile, make personal goals and commitments, and take action to promote personal and household/family health. Monitor your health risks and to personalize your preventive lifestyle behavior plan of action.

For most people, this will mean:

Improving food and menu choices

Including more vegetables (without added salt or fat), fruits (without added sugars), whole grains, seafood, nuts, legumes, low/non-fat dairy or dairy alternatives (without added sugars).

Reducing Red Meat Consumption

Reducing consumption of red and processed meat, refined grains, added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat; substituting saturated fats with polyunsaturated alternatives; and replacing solid animal fats with non-tropical vegetable oils and nuts.

Take responsibility for your results

Initiate positive personal lifestyle changes to improve dietary and physical activity behaviors, including goal setting and self-monitoring.

Achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Recognizing that many evidence-based options can facilitate weight loss and weight loss maintenance. As appropriate, work with qualified nutrition professionals and health providers to create a personalized plan of action for obesity prevention.

Exercise daily

For weight control, at least one hour a day of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity may be required. Adults should limit sedentary activity and replace it with aerobic and strengthening exercises.

Engage in at least 2.5 hours a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, such as brisk walking, or 1.25 hours a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity.

Get enough sleep!

This comment wasn't quantified, but clearly too many of us try to get by on too little sleep.