Monday, January 31, 2011

Guidelines urge Americans to clean up their diets

Many Americans' diets are a train wreck loaded with junk food, fast food, sugary beverages and too few healthful foods.

So it's no surprise that the federal government's new dietary guidelines, being released today, recommend people get back on track and eat healthier by slashing sugar, salt and solid fats such as butter and stick margarine from their diets and eating more seafood, fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

The latestDietary Guidelines for Americans, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, are designed to help people reach a healthy weight and reduce their risk of diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.

About two-thirds of adults and one-third of children in the USA are overweight or obese.

"We are saying to Americans: You really need to think about your diet because you want to live a good, healthy life and you want your children and grandchildren to have that same opportunity," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told USA TODAY. "You need to be conscious of what you eat."

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