European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 25, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Americans overweight but experts can t agree How to keep pounds off by Don Kendall associated pressm Illions of americans Are blimps because they eat too much and Don t bum i off with exercise says a new government report. Just Don t ask which is belter less gorging or More workouts. The joint nutrition monitoring committee a Federal advisory panel said in a report to Congress that about 32 million americans 25 to 74 years of age weigh Loo much including 11.7 million who Are severely overweight. The 32 million represent about 28 percent of All americans in that age group. The report shies away from using the term obese or obesity whenever possible using overweight or severely overweight instead. Suzanne Harris Deputy assistant Secretary for food and consumer service in the agriculture department said overweight is a fuzzier term than obesity which generally is defined As being at least 20 percent heavier than a Parson s Ideal body weight depending on Bone Structure. Overweight is not so carefully defined she said in an interview. In Otner words it could be 10 percent above a person s Ideal body weight and still be considered overweight. Severely overweight would be the 20 percent and  the report said that americans Overall maintain very Low Levels of physical activity. Overweight is the result of consuming More food Energy calories than is needed for maintenance or growth and can be reduced by eating less and or exercising  hams who has a doctorate degree in biochemistry sad there is much controversy about the relative importance of diet and exercise or Lack of it when determining the reasons for a person being overweight. Is it the second helping of potatoes and Gravy or the nightly sit in to watch television that puts of the pounds i Don t know whether Well Ever Settle it she said. We Don t have very Good data for physical activity it s a very difficult question to answer unless you put people in cages and watch them All the  the 356-Paga report culminating a three year project was sponsored by the departments of health and human services and agriculture As a review of the National nutrition monitoring system operated by the two agencies. Most of the dietary information came Tram Usta s nationwide food consumption Survey and the primary source of health data was from the has National health and nutrition examination Survey special attention was Given to the nutritional problems of the poor the report said. However the surveys Ere not Able to include a certain Small segment of the population individuals without a permanent address among whom poverty May be prevalent native americans living on reservations and military personnel on Active duty also were excluded from the surveys. Naw Yort Almu in the United states today the food Supply is Safe and adequate indeed abundant. Although some americans May not have sufficient food clinically significant nutritional deficiencies for which the diet is responsible Are relatively rare the report said. Food choices based on variety balance and moderation can provide a diet adequate to meet nutritional  some other observations the principal nutrition related health problems experienced by americans arise from Over consumption of certain food components fat. Saturated fatty acids cholesterol and sodium. Excessive intakes of these food components Are associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular  overweight greatly increased the risk of having hypertension and diabetes particularly among adults under age 45. Overweight is most prevalent among Black women and women below the poverty level these groups also exhibit especially High prevalence of certain obesity related disease such As hypertension and  impaired Iron status is most frequently found among Young children and females of childbearing age especially those children and women who Are Black and poor. Evidence of Vitamin c depletion is most frequently found Mong the poor especially adult males who smoke  because Calcium deficiency has been implicated As a contributor to the prevalence of osteoporosis among Post menopausal White women the relatively Low intake of Calcium among women is a Causa of  sugar poses no significant health Hazard Fra report says  new Dayi n a report that is sure to be controversial a food and drug administration task Force says that except for promoting tooth decay sugar presents no significant Public health hazards when consumed at current Levels or. Allan Forbes director of the Fra s office of nutrition and sciences said that the report which he called the most comprehensive that has been put together by anybody shows that sugar is not an Independent risk Factor in heart disease obesity hypertension diabetes and a variety of other ills. Although Forbes warned that sugar can be misused he said that at today s moderate consumption Levels sugar has no verifiable role in a wide Range of maladies including cancer and childhood behaviour problems that have been attributed to it by some critics. Forbes said sugars Are not contributing anything unique to diseases. Sugars Are just one More source of calories and from that you can say that sugars Are not an Independent risk Factor  the Fra examined sugar As part of its periodic review of food items on the list of those generally recognized As Safe. The report is an examination of All the nutritional research into sugar in the last 10 years. Ii took three years to Complete. Forbes said that although it is still in draft form the final version would not differ significantly from the draft. The in House task Force found a wide discrepancy Between the amount of sugar produced in the United states 125 pounds per capita and the amount consumed Forbes said. Much of the sugar added to food is wasted in food leftovers that Are thrown away and a significant amount is used in pet Lood the task Force found. To examine the sugar Content in the foods people actually eat the Fra relied upon surveys by the departments at agriculture and health and human services. The Fra found that the average american consumes 80 Grams of sugar daily about 2.8 ounces or about 64 pounds a year. Sarah Sedan a spokeswoman for the sugar association the sugar Industry s Trade group hailed the report As Good news and said it Means that sugar in moderation a a Safe and useful part of the diet. Yes Well probably use it in our advertising but Michael Jacobson executive director of he Center for science in the Public interest a Washington based nutrition activist group fears that the report will be misunderstood. Thursday september 25, 1986 sugary foods Are often High in fat such As pies Cakss Candy bars and ice Cream Jacobson said. But the Way the draft report is written it almost excuses those foods. People think of them As sweets but they just As Weh could be considered  High fat diets have been implicated in heart disease and cancer. Another critic is Mark hegsted. A former chief nutritionist for the . Department of agriculture. "1 think what they say is right and then they arrive at the wrong conclusion said hegsted. "1 think it s True you cannot implicate Auger in any of those chronic diseases that they looked at but then you turn the question around and say what Are the advantages of eating a High sugar diet and there certainly Aren t any traditional foes of the sugar Industry Are sure to be infuriated by the Fra report according to Stanley Gershoff Dean of nutrition at Tufts University. Pershoh recalls the outraged reception he got five years ago Whan he concluded that sugar was generally Safe in a study for the department of agriculture. Everything s not Good for you if you eat too much of it Gershoff said. That s just common sense. But you can find children who consume 10 cans of soda a Day. The problem is that sugar has been charged with a whole variety of things. For people who Are Down on sugar it s a Demon incarnate the stars and stripes Pago 13