Low-Carb Action Network Calls for Delay in Dietary Guidelines

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2020
Press Contact: Jessica Wharton
jessica@lowcarbaction.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Low-Carb Action Network (L-CAN) today called for a delay in the release of the expert report by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), currently set for June 17.

“There is a good deal of evidence that the scientific reviews for this report have not been fully completed, or were conducted in ways that excluded large amounts of rigorous science, such as virtually all the studies on low-carbohydrate diets [1] and nearly all studies on weight loss,” [2]  said L-CAN Director and medical doctor Dr. Mark Cucuzzella.

L-CAN is asking Agriculture Secretary Perdue and Health and Human Services Secretary Azar to delay the DGAC report until the Committee has considered all scientific literature, and the public can have the confidence that the report is “based on the preponderance of the scientific and medical knowledge which is current at the time the report is prepared,” as required by law. [3]

“The charter for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans allows the Committee to conduct its work through October, [4] and we believe the Committee should take those additional months to ensure consideration of all the relevant science, including the large number of clinical trials on carbohydrate restriction and those on weight loss,” stated Dr. Cucuzzella.

“Many millions of American are battling metabolic diseases, and it is alarming that the Guidelines might yet again only recommend diets that have thus far, demonstrated virtually no ability to prevent or reverse these nutrition-related illnesses,” Dr. Cucuzzella added. “These Americans deserve science-based nutrition advice that can help them recover their health.The rate of adult obesity is now 42.4%, according to the latest CDC data.”

L-CAN is one of several nutrition and health organizations calling for a delay in the Committee’s report. Other organizations which have made similar requests include The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which outlined a long list of concerns about the process, and The Nutrition Coalition, which released a letter detailing allegations by one or more member(s) of the DGAC who also had concerns.

In addition to scheduling the release of its draft report in less than two weeks, the Committee has indicated that there will be no public comment period afterward, which is unprecedented. During the development of the current Dietary Guidelines, the 2015 Committee received more than 29,000 public comments in response to its draft report.

“It is incredibly disappointing that this process is set to move forward without an opportunity for public comment,” Dr. Cucuzzella stated. “This demonstrates a remarkable lack of transparency and disengagement with the public that the Dietary Guidelines are meant to serve.”

##

The Low-Carb Action Network is a coalition of doctors, academics, advocates, and Americans with personal success stories, urging U.S. nutrition leaders to include a true low-carb diet as part of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

[1] https://lowcarbaction.org/usda-continues-to-exclude-low-carb-studies/
[2] 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Public Meeting – March 12, 2020, Afternoon, min 29:16. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a4d5666bff20053c65b7ff2/t/5e73d18616772f0fd8940644/1584648584430/March+12%2C+2020+-+Afternoon+Session+-+2020+Dietary+Guidelines+Advisory+Committee+Public+Meeting.pdf
[3] National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-445 – Oct. 22, 1990).
[4] United States Department of Agriculture. Charter for the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, Section 4 p.2. Available at https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2019- 03/DietaryGuidelinesAdvisoryCommitteeCharter-10-05-18.pdf. Accessed June 5, 2020