(Newser)
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Not only are the feds picking on how many Twinkies vs. how many carrots you eat, but the New York Times reports that now they're picking on how much you eat, period. The newest federal nutrition guidelines, revised every five years, predictably admonish Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables and fewer salts and saturated fats, but they should also simply limit the sheer volume of food they eat every day. “They are blunter here than they’ve ever been before, and they deserve credit for that,” says an NYU nutrition professor. “They said, ‘Eat less!’ I think that’s great, and to avoid oversized portions."
With a widespread obesity problem that costs millions in health care costs, the departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services felt compelled to act—despite the usual resistance from the food industry, reports the Washington Post. "The 2010 Dietary Guidelines are being released at a time when the majority of adults and one in three children is overweight or obese and this is a crisis we can no longer ignore," says agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack. "These dietary recommendations give individuals the information to make choices of healthier foods in the right portions and to complement those choices with physical activity."
