ABSTRACT
Everyone, it seems, offers advice about what we should eat. Diet books are perennial best sellers, with the eating plans they espouse providing the basis for endless articles in women’s consumer magazines and fitness and health magazines, and are the subject for television talk shows and newspaper columns. Perhaps less well known is the more credible advice issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and from voluntary health organizations such as the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Cancer Society (ACS). Population-based recommendations from the government include the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans
and the MyPyramid food guidance system. Research funded by the government has produced the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan. Organizations dedicated to preventing the major chronic diseases have developed their own diet and lifestyle advice. This chapter examines federal food and nutrition policy aimed at health promotion and guidelines from voluntary as well as federal health associations for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes.
