This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.
| May 30, 2000 | Contact: | HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343 |
The 1969 White House Conference successfully brought public attention to the importance of nutrition. Emerging from that conference were several landmark policy efforts that have had a profound, lasting effect, including expansion of the Food Stamp program, WIC program, nutrition labeling and the school lunch program. Hunger was a motivating force behind the 1969 conference. While considerable progress has been made in solving the problem of hunger in the United States, serious concerns about hunger and food security in some segments of the population remain. Today, the United States must also focus on a different challenge: nutrition and lifestyle changes that can help the nation's overweight and obese population, as well as prevent related chronic disease.
The Clinton Administration works every day to improve the health and safety of millions of families and children. Its efforts have included the 1996 Surgeon General's report on physical activity, the first federal guidelines to identify, evaluate and treat overweight and obese adults, the increased surveillance of foodborne diseases through the FoodNet partnership between CDC, FDA, and USDA, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Study of Health Outcomes of Weight-Loss clinical trial. The administration also works every day to ensure that consumers have the information they need to make health-promoting dietary choices, through better science, food labeling and consistent dietary advice.
HHS' Healthy People 2010, the nation's priority public health challenges for this decade, targets these nutrition efforts. For real success, government and all sectors of America need to work together to create new relationships, exchange information and resources, combine expertise, and leverage each other's investments. Toward that end, HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala announces the following actions:
Dietary Guidelines for Americans (5th Edition) - The new dietary guidelines are the first step to helping Americans get fit, through both diet and exercise. The guidelines provide easily understood, science-based information so Americans can choose diets that promote good health. In addition to being a single source of health and diet information, the guidelines also serve as the basis for federal food and nutrition education programs. HHS and USDA have developed and jointly released The Dietary Guidelines for Americans every five years since 1980. The guidance applies to all healthy people, age two and older. This year's guidelines groups information into three areas, the "ABCs":
The document can be found on the Internet at www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines
In keeping with scientific advances, this version:
Revised Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Pediatric Growth Charts - The new, revised CDC growth charts are a more accurate instrument for health care professionals who evaluate the growth status of children in the United States. Specifically, the new BMI growth charts will help practitioners identify weight problems early on before they really get started and can be used clinically beginning at age 2 years. BMI has been the standard to assess body fat in overweight adults. Now pediatric health care providers will have this same kind of tool for children and adolescents.
Growth charts are widely used as clinical and research tools to assess nutritional status and general health and well being of infants, children and adolescents. Charts developed in the mid-1970's by HHS National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) have been used to evaluate and monitor the growth of infants (birth to 36 months) and older children (2 to 18 years) in the United States for more than 20 years. In 1985, NCHS began a process to revise and improve the charts as nationally representative growth reference curves for the United States. The charts can be found in the Internet at www.cdc.gov/growthcharts.
Surgeon General's Workshop (OPHS) - The Surgeon General will convene a meeting this fall to develop a national action plan to address weight problems and obesity, one of the nation's ten Leading Health Indicators. The Leading Health Indicators are a subset of Healthy People 2010, the agenda for improving the nation's health for the first decade of the 21st Century. The workshop will build on discussions and partnerships that emerge from the nutrition summit. Workshop proceedings will help guide discussion on the feasibility of a future Surgeon General's report that addresses the United States' predominantly overweight and obese population. The Department of Health and Human Services will draw upon the expertise of federal partners in planning this workshop.
CDC's State Nutrition and Physical Activity Programs to Prevent Obesity and Related Chronic Diseases - CDC has made available $1.6 million for state-based programs to prevent and control obesity and related chronic diseases. The funds are for state and territorial health department programs that pertain to good eating habits, physical activity and exercise, and overall wellness per the new guidelines. The funds can be used to encourage children and adults to engage in sustained active lifestyles, to help develop policy and environmental support in various community settings so that people eat a balanced diet with fewer caloric and fatty foods and engage in regular physical activity. Information is available on the Internet at www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/grantmain.htm.
CDC's Kids Walk to School - By mid-June, CDC's Kids-Walk-to-School guide will be available to communities, schools, and interested parties who want to encourage children to walk to and from school. By participating in the program, children have the opportunity to build physical fitness into their daily routine. The guide provides tips for developing partnerships with local police departments, parent-teacher organizations, and departments of public health and public works to develop safe routes to school. It also includes sample letters, surveys, and evaluation tools; safety tips; resource lists; and ideas to make a child's walk to and from school safe and enjoyable. The guide will be available on the Internet at www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/kidswalk.htm.
International Food and Nutrition Forum - Co-sponsored by NIH and the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, this forum will allow key members of the federal research community, academia and non-governmental organizations to discuss a wide range of emerging issues in international health and nutrition, for the first time. The forum will meet three times a year for the next three years to define research agendas and programmatic initiatives on a broad spectrum of issues in international diet, health and chronic disease.
###
Note: For other HHS Press Releases and Fact Sheets pertaining to the subject of this announcement, please www.os.dhhs.gov/news/press/ .