Tip of the Month

Tip #1:  Devote more time to exercise, eat more fiber, and go easy on saturated fats, trans-fatty acids and sugar.

A panel of health experts provides this new advice in a new report on diet and exercise issued by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)*. The panel spent two years reviewing thousands of studies linking excessive or inadequate consumption of fats, carbohydrates and protein with increased risk for dietary deficiency diseases, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses.

The intent of these guidelines is to help Americans maintain good health, prevent chronic disease and prevent possible dangerous over-consumption of some nutrients. This is the latest in a series of reports aimed at revising all dietary recommendations for the first time since 1989.

Physical activity recommendations for adults and children double to 60 minutes per day.

The report found that to prevent weight gain and achieve maximum cardiovascular health, at least one hour a day of moderate intensity physical activity is required, in addition to the normal activities of a daily living. Moderately intense activities include activities such as brisk walking or jogging at 4-5 miles per hour, cycling, and swimming. The report acknowledges that although some benefits can be achieved with the previous recommendation of 30 minutes of activity most days of the week, this is insufficient to maintain body weight in the appropriate range.

Until this report, most health experts advocated a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity most days of the week. Fearing that a goal of 60 minutes of daily physical activity may discourage people from exercising at all, the American College of Sports Medicine researchers are quick to point out that 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week, whether at one time or in three 10-minute sessions, has been shown to lower risk for heart disease, stroke and hypertension, as well as help prevent diabetes and therefore has some benefit.

* (The report was issued by the NAS Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board, September 2002).