DeLauro Responds to New Dietary Guidelines

HHS and USDA release new 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans today

Washington, DC— Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Ranking Member on the Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, released the following statement in response to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released by the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture today.

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines is the federal government’s nutritional guidance to Americans on how to live healthier lives, specifically by reducing the risk for chronic diseases and obesity by eating better and being physically active.

“While the new guidelines promote more consumption of healthier foods, such as fruits and vegetables, it fails to adequately warn people about unhealthy foods that are too high in fat. With more than one-third of our children, and an astonishing two-thirds of adults, overweight or obese, it is critical that national dietary guidelines offer a comprehensive look at how Americans can achieve a healthier diet. This failure highlights the inherent conflict at USDA, which is charged with promoting the foods for which it also is establishing guidelines. This dual role prevents consumers from getting full enough information to make healthy choices.

“Another key element of these guidelines is urging people to decrease their consumption of sugar, sodium and saturated fats. Many of the processed foods consumed today contain elevated levels of these unhealthy ingredients. The FDA should use these new guidelines to develop a strong front-of-package labeling system that provides consumers with easy-to-understand information about exactly what is in our foods. This knowledge would empower consumers, helping them to make the right choices, and preventing the food industry from making misleading claims about foods such as sugary cereals being considered healthy options.”