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By Grant
McCool
NEW
YORK (Reuters) - The American Heart Association dished
out new dietary guidelines on Thursday, stressing for
the first time obesity prevention and overall eating patterns
instead of recommendations on percentages of fat or nutrients.
The
association's first diet update since 1996 said that a
diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains,
low-fat dairy products, fish, lean meats and poultry was
still the basis for its guidelines to help reduce the
risk of heart disease and stroke, the No. 1 killer of
men and women in the United States.
``Weight
gain in our society is a very big issue right now that
effects heart disease both directly and indirectly, and
it's a real concern of ours,'' Bob Eckel, one of the authors
of the guidelines, said at a news conference in New York.
The
guidelines were based on hundreds of studies and will
be published in the Oct. 31 issue of Circulation: Journal
of the American Heart Association. They apply to adults
and children 2 years of age and older.
The
guidelines, ``An Eating Plan for Healthy Americans,''
continue to recommend people eat five servings of fruit
and vegetables and six servings of grain daily. It warns
consumers against eating fatty fried food and fast-food.
But
for the first time, the Dallas-based nongovernmental association
recommended people eat two weekly servings of fatty fish
such as tuna or salmon, including less expensive canned
tuna and canned salmon.
``The
guidelines also consider individual variability in dietary
needs,'' Ronald Krauss, the principal author of the guidelines,
said at the news conference. ``We also consider the differences
in food preferences that are cultural and we recognize
there is individual variability in the way people respond
to changes in their diet.''
Too
Much Food Not Enough Exercise
Krauss,
a senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
at the University of California, and other doctors said
research showed that Americans were eating too many calories
and not exercising enough. They said the portions they
ate were too large and suggested that in restaurants,
consumers consider sharing an appetizer or an entree with
a companion to avoid over-eating.
Krauss
said the AHA ``had a dialogue'' with the food industry
''about the need to put the emphasis in the right kinds
of changes in the food supply.'' He added that restaurants
were ``a bigger challenge'' but the group wanted ``to
work hand-in-hand to put the pressure on the marketplace
by educating consumers.''
The
AHA said obese individuals should aim for a gradual weight
loss of no more than 1 to 2 pounds per week. It said that
rapid weight loss usually did not lead to keeping weight
down over the long-term.
``Simply
put, to lose weight, you must eat fewer calories than
you burn and increase physical activity, such as brisk
walking, to at least 30 minutes daily,'' Krauss said.
He
said that for people with high blood pressure, losing
merely 5 percent to 10 percent of body weight, in addition
to following the AHA's recommended diet, could significantly
reduce blood pressure.
The
AHA said that although the guidelines were developed to
''reduce or delay'' heart disease and stroke, research
indicated that the recommended nutritional diet could
also decrease the risk of cancer or osteoporosis.
Main
AHA dietary recommendations:
+
Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, 5 or more servings
daily;
+
Eat a variety of grain products, including whole grains,
6 or more servings daily;
+
Include fat-free and low-fat milk products, fish, legumes
(beans), skinless poultry and lean meats;
+
Choose fats with 2 grams or less saturated fat per serving,
such as liquid and tub margarines, canola oil and olive
oil;
+
Limit foods high in calories or low in nutrition, including
foods such as soft drinks and candy that have a lot of
sugars;
+
Limit foods high in saturated fat, trans fat and/or cholesterol,
such as full-fat milk products, fatty meats, tropical
oils, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and egg yolks;
+
Eat less than 2 grams of salt daily (2,400 milligrams
of sodium);
+
Cholesterol should be limited to 300 mg per day for healthy
individuals and 200 mg for those at high risk for heart
disease, a recommendation that has remained unchanged
since 1996;
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The association still recommends that people get their
nutrients from foods, not supplements;
+
Alcohol, if consumed at all, should be limited to one
drink per day for women and two drinks a day for men.
+
Balance the number of calories you eat with the number
you use each day and maintain physical exercise that keeps
you fit and matches the number of calories you eat.
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