Obesity Group Weighs In On Dietary Guidelines
Asks Advisory Committee to Consider Total Quantity of Foods

WASHINGTON, March 8, 1999 —The head of the American Obesity Association (AOA) today urged the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee to "make a paradigm shift from focusing strictly on content of dietary intake to a balance of content and total quantity of dietary intake." The proposal was made along with six recommendations by Morgan Downey, AOA's executive director, during his testimony before the committee considering revisions to the 1995 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The guidelines are a cornerstone for all federal nutritional policies.

Downey, who introduced himself as "a person living with obesity," said "focusing on the content as well as the quantity of food is imperative because the proliferation of low-fat foods have confused weight-conscious persons about how much to eat. For consumers trying to achieve a healthy weight," he said "clear messages about the quantity of dietary intake should be included in the revised guidelines."

During his testimony, Downey said "the greatest failure of public health policy today is clearly the rate of increase in overweight and obesity. Continuation of the status quo will condemn more Americans to disease and premature death."

Some 55 percent of all U.S. adults are overweight or obese. Nearly 15 percent of American children and more than 10 percent of adolescents are overweight, double the percentages since 1968. A recent study calculated the costs attributable to obesity in the U.S. at $100 billion. Poor diet and inactivity are responsible for at least 300,000 preventable deaths each year, second only to tobacco as a cause of preventable death.

Downey asked the committee to consider six recommendations for revision to the guidelines:

1. To recognize that obesity is the overwhelming dietary influence on major chronic disease.
2. To prioritize their recommendations to correct the false equality among all seven recommendations.
3. To place the highest priority on the section on weight and rename the section "Achieve a Healthy Weight."
4. To identify the guidelines as being for adult Americans, and to develop a separate Dietary Guideline for children.
5. To replace the height/weight chart with a Body Mass Index (BMI) or a more comprehensive weight profile.
6. To make federal government information campaigns using the guidelines to be more aggressive in regard to overweight and obesity.

The American Obesity Association, headquartered in Washington, is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to advocate on behalf of persons with obesity. Founded in 1995, AOA's mission is to promote the recognition of obesity as a major public health problem, educate the public about the health risks of obesity, advocate for greater research on obesity, and advocate for coverage by managed care organizations for obesity prevention and treatment.