Blog: Guidelines’ One-Size Fits-All Approach Inappropriate for Most Americans
September 30, 2020
By Jessica Wharton
The 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) are on track to recommend yet again a one-size-fits-all dietary approach. The Guidelines currently recommend three dietary patterns, all of which suggest consuming between 51-54% of daily calories from carbohydrates. This is alarming–and inappropriate for the majority of Americans who are battling one or more metabolic disease.
In July, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) released its expert report which ignored virtually all low-carb studies and every study on weight-loss. This is a shocking scientific omission and shows complete disregard to the 42.4% of U.S. adults who now have obesity and the more than 114 million adults living with either pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes. 1
By ignoring most Americans, the committee is doing a great disservice to the public. By omitting trials on low-carb diets, the committee is also depriving the public of a safe and effective means of reversing obesity, hypertension, most cardiovascular risk factors, and a Type 2 diabetes diagnoses.
The health of Americans has declined since the introduction of the Dietary Guidelines in 1980. A low-carb dietary pattern could change that.
There is still time to do your part by asking Members of Congress to direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services (USDA-HHS), which oversee the Guidelines, to delay publication of the 2020 version until the science on low-carb and weight loss has been reviewed. With just one click you can take action here.
The science clearly supports the inclusion of a low-carb diet as one viable option among USDA’s three “Dietary Patterns.”
For more nutritional adequacy information on a low-carb diet and low-carb meal plans, visit our page here.