News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, Aug. 11, 2003 |
Contact: HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343 USDA Press Office
(202) 720-4623 |
HHS, USDA DESIGNATE EXPERTS TO THE DIETARY GUIDELINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson and Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today designated 13 professionals to serve on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, the group responsible for reviewing the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans report, published every five years. A broad-based nutrition policy guide, the Guidelines utilize the latest scientific and medical knowledge to advise the general public on ways to improve overall health through proper nutrition.
The Committee designees will meet in the early fall to review and update the most recent scientific literature in preparation for the release of the 2005 version of Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Selected for their scientific expertise related to dietary intake and health, the designees will advise HHS and USDA on any nutritional and dietary revisions necessary to the Guidelines before they are republished. In addition, the designees are responsible for ensuring that the science behind the Guidelines is translated for the public in a user-friendly, easily understandable format.
"The Dietary Guidelines for Americans is the cornerstone of nationwide nutritional and dietary programs and policies, and will become increasingly significant as we continue to wage battles against obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses," Secretary Thompson said. "The Bush administration is working hard to build awareness of healthy living to include lifelong preventive measures, particularly eating nutritionally balanced meals and getting regular physical activity."
"This committee will consider the latest science as they develop a report that will offer Americans information that is critical to their health and welfare. Our goal is to provide clear information for consumers through the Dietary Guidelines for Americans," Secretary Veneman said. "This Administration has committed itself to ensuring that Americans receive the messages for a healthy lifestyle through the President's HealthierUS initiative, which promotes physical activity, eating a nutritious diet, getting preventive screenings and making healthy choices. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are a useful tool for the American people to achieve these goals."
For more than 100 years, the government has been committed to providing sound nutrition guidance for Americans. First published in 1980, the Guidelines are reviewed, updated and released by HHS and USDA every five years, and contain nutritional and dietary information and guidance for the general public. The information is based on the latest scientific and medical knowledge available, and currently comprises 10 guidelines that individuals should aim for to improve overall health:
- Aim for a healthy weight;
- Be physically active each day;
- Let the Pyramid guide your food choices;
- Choose a variety of grains daily, especially whole grains;
- Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables daily;
- Keep food safe to eat;
- Choose a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and moderate in total fat;
- Choose beverages and foods to moderate your intake of sugars;
- Choose and prepare foods with less salt; and
- If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.
In order to prepare the Guidelines for release in 2005 - the sixth edition - the designees will examine the new Dietary Reference Intakes by the Institute of Medicine; the World Health Organization report on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases; and other recent scientific research.
The designees, selected expressly for the purpose of reviewing and revising the Guidelines, will recommend guideline revisions to the HHS and USDA Secretaries in a formal report, if warranted.
The following individuals have been designated for membership to the advisory committee:
Lawrence J. Appel, M.D., M.P.H., Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md. Dr. Appel is a physician and clinical researcher who has conducted several studies on the impact of nutrition and lifestyle modification on blood pressure and cardiovascular risk. Currently, he serves on the Nutrition Committee of the American Heart Association, and is currently serving as Chair to the Institute of Medicine's study on electrolytes and water.
Yvonne Bronner, Sc.D., R.D., L.D., Professor and Director of MPH/DrPH Program, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Md. Dr. Bronner has more than 20 years of experience in research, training, and program development in the areas of nutrition and maternal and child health. She serves on numerous advisory committees such as the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board and the Department of Health and Human Services Maternal and Child Health Review Panel.
Benjamin Caballero, M.D., Ph.D., Director and Professor of the Center for Human Nutrition and Division of Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md.
Dr. Caballero is an internationally recognized expert in pediatric nutrition whose focus includes childhood obesity and amino acid and protein metabolism. He has served on a number of expert advisory panels, including the recent Institute of Medicine's Panel on Dietary Reference Intakes on Macronutrients.
Carlos Arturo Camargo, Jr., M.D., Dr.P.H., Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts. For the past 17 years, Dr. Camargo has conducted research on the health effects of moderate alcohol consumption, primarily the "protective" association between moderate drinking and the risk of cardiovascular diseases. His recent work has been based on several large epidemiologic cohorts, including the Physicians' Health Study, the Nurses' Health Study, and the Health Professionals' Follow-up Study.
Fergus M. Clydesdale, Ph.D., Professor of Food Science and Dean of the College of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass.
Dr. Clydesdale's research interests include physical-chemical changes in food during processing, mineral-fiber interactions in foods, and technological optimization of physiological and functional properties and color-sensory interactions in foods. He has served on numerous committees, including the FDA Food Advisory Committee and the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board.
Vay Liang W. Go, M.D., Professor of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine. Dr. Go is an international authority on the brain-gut connection in nutrition, especially with regard to gut hormones. He is currently editor of the journal Pancreas. He is the former director of Nutrition at the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the former Executive Chair of Medicine at UCLA, and a consultant to the Food and Drug Administration in nutrition. He is also the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition and is the Core Director and Co-Principal Investigator of the UCLA Center for Dietary Supplements.
Janet C. King, Ph.D., R.D., Senior Scientist, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, Calif., Professor Emerita, Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology, University of California at Berkeley, Calif.; Adjunct Professor, Department of Nutrition and the Department of Internal Medicine; University of California at Davis, Calif. Dr. King has published extensively and is internationally recognized for her research on energy and zinc metabolism in healthy adults and pregnant women. Dr. King was chair of the Food and Nutrition Board in 1994 when the paradigm for the new Dietary Reference Intakes was established. She served as director of the USDA Western Human Nutrition Research Center for eight years.
Penny M. Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.D., Distinguished Professor of Nutrition, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Penn. Dr. Kris-Etherton has expertise in the area of diet and coronary heart disease risk factors, as well as nutritional regulation of lipoprotein and cholesterol metabolism. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine's Panel on Dietary Reference Intakes for Macronutrients.
Joanne R. Lupton, Ph.D., Professor of Animal Science, of Food Science and Technology, of Nutritional Sciences, and of Veterinary Anatomy and Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Dr. Lupton has conducted research on the effect of diet, primarily the consumption of fats and fiber, on the development of colon cancer. Dr. Lupton has served as chair of the recently released Macronutrient Report from the Dietary Reference Intakes Committee of the National Academy of Sciences and is the chair for the National Academy of Science panel to determine the definition of dietary fiber.
Theresa A. Nicklas, Dr.P.H., M.P.H., L.N., Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. Dr. Nicklas' expertise pertains to cardiovascular health and nutritional epidemiology, child nutrition, and health promotion and chronic disease prevention. Her current work examines eating patterns of children as predictive factors for obesity in young adulthood. She was a member of the Dietary Patterns Advisory Panel of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's National Growth and Health Study.
Russell R. Pate, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research, School of Public Health, and Professor, Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Dr. Pate is widely recognized for his expertise in physical activity and physical fitness in children, and the overall health implications of physical activity. He coordinated the effort that led to the development of the recommendation on Physical Activity and Public Health by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine. He currently serves on an Institute of Medicine panel that is developing guidelines on prevention of childhood obesity.
F. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, M.D., M.P.H., Director, Obesity Research Center, Professor of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons; Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition, St.Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, New York, N.Y. Dr. Pi-Sunyer is an international expert in obesity and diabetes, focusing on the role of nutrition in the prevention and treatment of these increasingly prevalent diseases. He was invited to give a presentation to the 2000 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the topic of glycemic index and has served on expert panels and advisory panels to several NIH Workshops and to the National Academy of Sciences Food and Nutrition Board.
Connie M. Weaver, Ph.D., Head and Distinguished Professor, Department of Foods and Nutrition, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. Dr. Weaver is a leader in the nutrition community, having served as President of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences and in a number of leadership roles for the Institute of Food Technologists. She has also served on the National Academy of Sciences' Food and Nutrition Board as a panel member for the Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Related Nutrients and as a committee member to the National Academy of Sciences for Food Chemical Codex.
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Last Revised: August 11, 2003
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