By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - With more than half of all Americans now
overweight, the Clinton administration said on Tuesday it would study the
effects of popular weight-loss diets and probe why people eat what they do, even
when they know it is bad for them.
At a conference billed as "The National Nutrition Summit," US Agriculture
Secretary Dan Glickman said the United States must also do more to fight hunger.
While many Americans have too much food in their stomachs, millions of others
still don't have enough to eat, he said.
In a videotaped speech that paid tribute to a landmark 1969 White House
meeting on food, nutrition and health, President Bill Clinton noted the
contradictory problems of hunger and obesity facing the United States.
"While we've come a long way in promoting good nutrition and health, too
many Americans still are malnourished, without food or living unhealthy
lifestyles," Clinton said. "Nearly fifty-five percent of our population is
overweight or obese--including one-in-five children."
Despite a wealth of information about the link between proper nutrition and
good health, many Americans continue to make poor eating choices. "We can't seem
to all convert all that nutritional knowledge into changed behavior," Glickman
said. "The fact is only 12 percent of the American people have a good diet." The
large number of overweight Americans has created a huge market for weight loss
plans, such as those that recommend diets high in protein or low in sugar.
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala took aim at the "fad
diets" in her remarks. "Stop doing them. They won't last. Instead, take the
weight off slowly and steadily through a powerful combination of sensible eating
and physical activity," she said.
Last week, the administration issued new dietary guidelines that, for the
first time, emphasize the importance of exercise to healthy living and recommend
a diet high in whole-grain foods and fruits and vegetables.
One reason for the popularity of many weight-loss diets may be a "lack of
reliable scientific research... to counter the claims made by their promoters,"
Glickman said.
To shed some light on the issue, the Agriculture Department will begin a
coordinated research program to examine the health and nutrition effects of
various popular diets, he said.
The department will also launch a "behavioral nutrition initiative" to
examine why people make the food and exercise choices that they do. "Why do we
keep reaching for those extra large orders of french fries when we know too much
fat is a slow form of poison?" Glickman said.
In a sign of the strong emotions food can arouse, Glickman narrowly escaped
being hit in the face with an apple pie at the start of the conference. An
animal rights activist threw the pie just as Glickman was beginning his speech.
Security guards quickly grabbed the woman, who was hauled away shouting:
"Shame on you for promoting meat."
