U.S. Issues Diet Advice: Cut Fat, Eat Vegetables

The federal government on Monday offered advice on nutrition that varies little from guidelines issued 10 years ago: eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and grains and avoid salt, sugar, cholesterol and other fats.

Following these dietary guidelines “can make all the difference between good health and illness, between long life and premature death,” Health and Human Services Secretary Louis W. Sullivan said. “Americans who ignore them do so at their own peril.”

The guidelines recommend limiting fat intake to no more than 30% of calories. Saturated fat--the type that contributes to the formation of blood cholesterol--should be limited to 10% of daily calories, or 22 grams in a 2,000-calorie diet, said the report, released by Sullivan and Agriculture Secretary Clayton K. Yeutter.

The recommendations for the first time suggest fat limits in percentages, but otherwise closely resemble guidelines released in 1980 and 1985.

Consumer advocates complained that the federal guidelines are weaker than those promoted by other health authorities, and that they had been “watered down.”

“This document is clearly designed not to offend the meat, egg and dairy industries,” said Jayne Hurley, associate nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “It represents the least common denominator of nutrition advice.”

For example, she said, the current recommendations on salt and sugar--that they be used “only in moderation”--were weaker than earlier suggestions to “avoid too much” sugar and salt.

Yeutter, appearing with Sullivan at a press conference, dismissed the consumer group’s attack. He called the new guidelines “clearer and more comprehensive,” than past recommendations.

Dr. C. Wayne Callaway of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which developed the recommendations, said the consumer groups’ criticisms were an issue of “language.”