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REMARKS BY:    DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND 	
			  HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE:         Press Conference at the Department of Agriculture
DATE:          January 2, 1996

These new Guidelines will provide every American with the best scientific information about how to make smart food choices that promote good health.

Forget about all the background noise: These Guidelines are the Gold Standard for nutrition and health.

They will help Americans cut through all the fads and myths concerning our diets, and they will allow Americans to ring in the New Year with new diet resolutions that will protect their health -- and maybe save their lives.

From supermarkets to health centers and from classrooms to boardrooms, we are sending the message loud and clear: "Diet and exercise are twin engines that will carry you on the road to a longer, healthier life."

This message has never been more important than right now.

That's because, every year, poor diet and sedentary behavior contribute to the deaths of some 300,000 Americans and to more than $250 billion in health costs and lost productivity.

The best research in the world tells us that eating right and getting off the couch reduce the risk of premature death from devastating killers like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some cancers.

And now, with the 1995 Guidelines, we have a user friendly tool to translate state-of-the-art nutrition information into real-life gains for our citizens.

The Guidelines continue to emphasize the importance of balanced, moderate, and varied diets -- but we have made adjustments because of new knowledge in science and medicine.

First and foremost, these Guidelines erase the myth that expanding waistlines are an inevitable function of growing older.

For the first time ever, the Guidelines recommend that adults maintain their weight in one healthy range throughout their lives.

The scales are not lying: When at least one-third of all adults and one-quarter of all children are overweight, we have a weight problem in America.

But the answer isn't crash diets that severely restrict calories or the variety of foods.

According to the Guidelines, the answer is first, not to gain more weight, and then to take off weight slowly and steadily with the powerful combination of smart eating and regular physical activity.

But, let's be clear: When we talk about physical activity, we're not talking about mandatory marathons or Cal Ripken-like workouts.

Whether it's gardening or brisk walking, playing golf or bypassing the elevator for the stairs, there are many ways to control one's weight, improve health, and stop diseases -- before they occur.

The 1995 Guidelines break with the past in another way: They finally admit what many of us have known all along -- that "Eating is one of life's great pleasures."

And they recognize that our food tastes are as diverse as our people.

Scanning the cultural map of America, they give specific examples of a rich variety of foods that deliver important nutrients -- like mangos, black eyed peas, turnip greens, tortillas, and Chinese cabbage.

On top of that, for the first time, we have made these Guidelines relevant for vegetarians. We show how vegetarian diets can be a healthful choice, as long as people make sure to receive all their essential nutrients -- especially iron, zinc, and B vitamins.

These Guidelines also give important new advice to parents of children ages 2 to 5: They recommend that, for these children, dietary fat be gradually decreased to the adult limit -- which is 30 percent of calories from fat.

We are proud to release the 1995 Dietary Guidelines, and we hope that the American people will use them in combination with the Nutrition Facts Label that the Clinton Administration implemented in 1994.

Because -- together -- the new Dietary Guidelines, the Nutrition Facts Label, and the Food Guide Pyramid are powerful resources for our citizens.

They make nutrition information easy and accessible. They put power back in the hands of consumers. They help parents plan healthful meals for their children. They celebrate food as a vital part of our culture. And they help all of us protect our health and our futures. Thank you.