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[font=Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Panel: Eat more whole grains, get exercise [/font]
Researchers issue recommendations for new food pyramid

The Associated Press
Updated: 2:55 p.m. ET Aug. 27, 2004

WASHINGTON - Not any bread will do, a panel of doctors and scientists told the government Friday in issuing its final recommendations about what advice should go into the federal food pyramid.

People should eat at least three one-ounce servings of whole grains each day, preferably in place of refined grains, or white bread, the proposals for the five-year update of the government’s nutrition advice say.

The advisers and the government want Americans to balance the calories they get from food with the calories they burn in physical activity. But with almost two-thirds of Americans overweight or obese, officials realize they have an uphill fight.

“We have to have a good behavior change implementation to address this serious problem of obesity and overweight,” said Eric Hentges, executive director of the Agriculture Department’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, which will use the guidelines as it revamps the pyramid.

More exercise
The committee also called for Americans to control their weight by being physically active. And the recommendations could keep people very busy. To prevent weight gain, many people should do up to 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity, and those who have lost weight and want to keep it off may have to do up to 90 minutes, the report said.

Unlike the current guidelines, issued in 2000, the new recommendations do not specifically tell people to be moderate in their use of added sugars, such as regular sodas. Sugar provides energy, the report noted. But the scientists and doctors are not letting Americans off the hook. They say people still have to be careful in their intake as a way to keep their weight under control.



The recommendations go to federal officials who will prepare reports for the secretaries of Agriculture and of Health and Human Services, who must approve the findings before they can be issued. Officials expect the final nutrition report, and an updated version of the food pyramid, to come out early next year.

Focus on whole grains
On whole grains, the panel said people should eat more as a way to get more fiber. Fiber has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes, the report said.

However, the panel still allowed room for refined grains.

“This is an issue of balance,” Hentges said. “We are kind of out of balance now. We need more fiber. It’s getting a balance of enriched grains and whole grains.”

The advisers also introduced a new concept for the guidelines — discretionary calories.

Those are calories needed just for energy, after people have eaten foods rich in nutrients and thereby met their requirements for vitamins, minerals and other necessities for health. Discretionary calories could be considered treats calories, because they don’t have to be from nutrient-rich foods.

Discretionary calories are the reward for living right. And Americans who are overweight or obese don’t have discretionary calories, Hentges said. “They used them up a long time ago,” he said. To get them back, they will have to burn more calories by being more active, he said.

The panel called on people to:

Consume a variety of foods within and among the basic food groups while staying within energy needs;
Control calorie intake to manage body weight;
Be physically active each day;
Increase daily intake of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and nonfat or lowfat milk and milk products;
Choose carbohydrates wisely for good health;
Choose and prepare foods with little salt;
If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation;
<LI>Keep food safe to eat.


© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5840966/

They're sick! They're *~#$^*~&$^ sick, I tell you!

As someone who did that, let me tell you...you are fine...as long as you don't get sick or your knees don't blow out like a retread.

By ignoring what sugar and grains do to you, they are pushing amounts of exercise that aren't that bad for a fit twenty something, but are tough to fit into any life that includes a full time job and being with anyone who cares about you.

Augughuughg! It drives me crazy! I'm all for exercise, I'm planning to up my own exercise. But as someone who used to exercise 90 minutes day, I can tell you it's tough.

I think it's pretty unrealistic in today's world to expect somebody to excercise 90 mintes per day. Most people just don't have that kind of time.

I agree. A typical daily schedule (excluding weekends) looks like this for me:

5:30 AM: Up and at 'em..shower, dress, get some coffee, try to gain some semblence of consciousness
6:30 AM: Leave for work
7:00 AM-3:10 PM: at work (45 minutes for lunch or errand running...usually both)
3:10-3:30 PM: Leave work, drive to school, pick up kids
3:30-3:50 PM: Drive from school home
3:50 PM-6:00 PM: Read mail, supervise/assist with homework, return calls left on answering machine, read and sign paperwork from school, prepare dinner, do minor housework (empty dishwasher, start a load of laundry or fold and put away a load that is already dry)
6:00 PM-6:30 PM: Eat dinner, discuss days' events with family
6:30-7:00 PM: clean up dinner, put leftovers away, do dishes, take out meat to thaw for next night's dinner
7:00 PM-8:00 PM; spend time with husband and kids; play games, watch TV together, take a walk, do yardwork, etc...
8:00-8:30: supervise kids getting ready for bed, finish any housework left undone

Okay...it's now 8:30 and I finally have some spare time. Do they honestly expect me to spend the next 90 minutes excercising? That also would leave me 7.5 hours to sleep assuming that I went to bed immediately after excercising and fell asleep right away, which is impractical as a shower would likely be necessary and it's difficult, if not downright impossible to fall asleep immediately after exercising. So...how do I fit that in and still get the recommended 8 hours of sleep per night AND the recommended 90 minutes of excercise?
Wait...maybe this recommendation was thought up by men who are a) single b) married without kids or c) married with kids but not doing a lot to contribute to the work of running a home and caring for a family. It certainly isn't geared towards women who work full time outside the home and are responsible for the majority of what goes on inside the home.

If you need to do a lot of exercise to accommodate all the sugar that you're eating (remember "at least 3 servings of healthy whole grain"), something is wrong. Why are they telling us to consume more raw energy (grains, after all, are nothing but meager trace minerals and raw sugar energy) at the same time they are telling us to exercise for an hour and a half a day simply because we are eating too many calories?

Wouldn't it be easier to give people the option to eat less energy and exercise less instead?

I actualy seen that psycho Susan Power (sp?) on the Wayne Brady show last night, she was running her mouth of about how bad atkins is and that we need all these foods high in carbs. The world was such a better place when she was quiet, she looks like a junkie strung out on crack. People just can not get it in their heads that eating whole, natural and real foods is optimal for health. They would rather us eat bread, lots of fruit and starchy veggies. Remember these are the same people who said we should give up butter and eat hydogenated filled margerin.

Good point. What they're essentially saying is: "If you can't eat this way and lose or maintain your weight, you're not excercising enough". Instead of: "If you can't eat this way and lose or maintain your weight, maybe you shouldn't be eating this way."
It's also not just about calories. I work with a guy who was going to the gym 5 days a week and eating a lower calorie low fat diet and getting nowhere fast to lose weight. He switched to low carb, paid no attention to calories, backed off on the exercise and dropped his excess weight (about 40 pounds) in about 4 months and maintains on maintainence levels.

Good point about the calorie issue... it's not just about calories. If your metabolism can't handle the sugar, if it can't burn it for fuel and only knows how to store it, downregulate metabolism, and leave you lethargic instead... well then qunatity of calories matter a WHOLE lot less than making sure you eat very little of them from sugar.

Either way, telling people that they just need to exercise at an unrealistically high frequency to do something as natural as maintain a healthy body weight is beyond insane. If you are eating a healthy diet, healthy weight should be a natural consequence. Exercise is good for "extra benefits" like better health, or to eat more food... no one should have to exercise like that simply to avoid being obese. Something is wrong.

This makes perfect sense to you and I. It never ceases to amaze me that supposedly intellegent people just can't seem to grasp this.

No, because the food companies have to make their money and they care about them and not us.

It kills me that all these experts say you have to eat whole grains to get fiber. There are so many better sources of fiber than whole grains. Saying whole grains are healthier than refined grains is like saying that filtered cigarettes are healthier than unfiltered cigarettes.

Me, I virtually NEVER exercise. By that I mean I never, ever do pushups or lift weights, use a treadmill, or run around the block. I tried that 600 times and never stuck with it. I felt like a damned hamster. I'd sit in my cage all day, then periodically jump on this wheel, which went nowhere, did nothing useful.

About eight years ago, I simply started putting more physical stuff into my day -- which is what kept people thinner for the last 50,000 years or so. I dumped my powered lawn tools. I use a push mower, not ride-on. I use a rake, not a blower. I use manual hedge trimmers, etc. I split my own firewood. (Scavenged from neighbors who have had trees taken down.) I use a hand-saw when doing work around the house. A hand drill, not power drill.

I'm a writer. But I use a stand-up desk most of the day. I put my laptop on one of my old workbenches. When on conference calls, I pace around the office, swing my golf club, whatever. I walk to the bank to visit the ATM. I carry my trash to the curb. Don't use carts or wheeled containers. I run up the stairs. I do dishes by hand. (Yep I do the dishes.) I use a whisk instead of a blender when making mayonnaise. I chop stuff with a knife, not a food processor. I knead bread by hand (My wife and kids insist on eating bread, so I insist on making it. No wonder bread allowed here.)

When I play golf, I walk, carry my own clubs, and never ride. When I go to my kids 'soccer games. I stand on the sidelines (usually pacing, too) instead of bringing a lawn chair and a cooler. I pull corks out of my wine with a simple corkscrew, not one of those lever-cranking devices. I wash my own cars, with sponge and hose. No drive-throughs.

Not than I'm a purist or a Luddite, or Amish. It just feels better doing things this way. And I NEVER have to go to the gym, or use a hamster-wheel treadmill.

Oh, and I eat LC. Nice, compact quantities of rich, high-flavor food.

Whewwwwww, what a relief!!! I was afraid you were gonna say you used your TEETH