Steven J. Stack, MD, president of the American Medical Association, has released a statement expressing his support for the "2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans" HHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture released Thursday. The guidelines were informed by an advisory committee.
"Specifically, the AMA applauds the committee for recommending that our nation's children and adults should focus on achieving a healthy overall diet rather than focus on consuming only specific nutrients," Dr. Stack said in the statement. "Additionally, we are encouraged that the committee acknowledged and made policy recommendations for addressing the environmental and societal issues that keep individuals from implementing these Dietary Guidelines into their own diets."
The AMA also acknowledged the guidelines' recommendations to reduce the amount of added sugars and sugar-sweetened beverages from the American diet, a goal the AMA has also been working on over the last two years in an attempt to combat type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
"We encourage the committee to continue to push for the policies and environmental and system changes needed to help make healthy foods and beverages more accessible and affordable to all Americans," Dr. Stack said.
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