There's a food pyramid to help guide people's eating habits,
so why not one for exercise? The Bush Administration said
it would develop guidelines for physical activity.
When the guidelines are ready in late 2008, federal health
officials hope they will help people live healthier lifestyles,
which in turn, could slow soaring health care costs.
“Obesity is an epidemic, and chronic disease inevitably
follows. It has become a major quiet killer,“ said Mike
Leavitt, the Health and Human Services Secretary.
“More than half of adults in the United States do not get
enough of the kind of physical activity that actually benefits
them. One-quarter are not active at all in their leisure
time. Overall, more than 60 million adults are obese,” Leavitt
said.
“The lack of exercise contributes to the $2 trillion that
people spend on health care in this country,” Leavitt said.
About three-quarters of that amount goes toward the treatment
of chronic disease.
Every five years, the government updates dietary guidelines
that are designed to tell people what they should eat and
how they should prepare food to keep it safe and wholesome.
The food pyramid is a separate document published by the
Agriculture Department based on dietary guidelines.
Leavitt said “the government has a compelling national interest
in promoting healthy choices.” But he made it clear that
the steps he envisions are less forceful than others might
consider necessary. For instance, New York City is considering
strict limits on artificial trans fats in restaurant meals. |
“You cannot create a culture of wellness through regulations
and penalties,“
Leavitt said. Leavitt said he would begin meeting with the
beverage and snack industry, as well as marketing and media
groups, about how to create a “culture of wellness.“
“If we simply burden people with guilt or we appeal only
to their fears, it won't happen,“ he said.
The government already makes recommendations about exercise.
The new pyramid, for example, recommends 30 -minutes of
daily physical activity, 60 -minutes to prevent weight gain
and 90 - minutes may be needed to sustain weight loss.
The Surgeon General issued a report in the mid1990s that
contained recommendations on exercise.
Officials said the new guidelines, however, would establish
a process where the best science on physical activity would
be routinely evaluated. Dr. Douglas Kamerow, a member of
the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Childhood Obesity,
said his panel recommended the physical activity guidelines.
“While most obese people know they should eat less and move
more, scientific guidelines could be helpful,” he said.
“If we can have the best science brought into operation
and you publish guidelines that would be age-specific, something
for school, something for home, you could end up with something
that might be useful,“ Kamerow said.
written by Kevin
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