AMA Supports New Dietary Guidelines to Improve Public Health

CHICAGO — Dr. Steven Stack, president of the American Medical Association (AMA), recently commended the federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee for its work to develop the newest Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

“We believe that the new recommendations will help more Americans gain access to the resources they need to adopt a healthy diet and lead healthier lives,” Stack said. “Specifically, the AMA applauds the committee for recommending that our nation’s children and adults should focus on achieving a healthy overall diet rather than focus on consuming only specific nutrients. Additionally, we are encouraged that the committee acknowledged and made policy recommendations for addressing the environmental and societal issues that keep individuals from implementing these dietary guidelines into their own diets.

“With obesity and its associated health consequences — namely type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease — on the rise throughout our country, the AMA also is extremely pleased that the new recommendations call for significantly reducing the amount of added sugars and sugar-sweetened beverages from the American diet,” he went on. “The AMA has been working hard over the last two years to prevent the incidence of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, both of which are linked to excessive sugar consumption, and we will continue to support efforts aimed at improving the health of the nation.”

Finally, Stack said, “we encourage the committee to continue to push for the policies and environmental and system changes needed to help make healthy foods and beverages more accessible and affordable to all Americans.”