STATEMENT OF DR. PHILIP LEE,
PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL MEDICINE AND DIRECTOR,
HEALTH POLICY PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA,
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
The publication of Dietary Goals for the United States by the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs is a major step forward in the development of a rational nutritional health policy. The public health problems related to what we eat are pointed out in Dietary Goals. More important, the steps that can and should be taken by individuals, families, educators, health
professions, industry and Government are made clear.
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As a Nation we have come to believe that medicine and medical technology can solve our major health problems. The role of such important factors as diet in cancer and heart disease has long been obscured by the emphasis on the conquest of these diseases through the miracles of modern medicine. Treatment not prevention has been the order of the day.
The problems can never be solved merely by more and more medical care. The health of individuals and the health of the population is determined by a variety of biological (host), behavioral, sociocultural and environmental factors. None of these is or important than the food we eat. The simple fact and the importance of diet in health and disease is clearly recognized in Dietary Goals for the United States. |
The Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs has made four recommendations to encourage the achievement of the very sound dietary goals incorporated in the report. These are:
1. a large scale public nutrition education program involving the schools, food assistance programs, the Extension Service of the
Department of Agriculture and the mass media;
2. mandatory food labeling for all foods;
3. the development of improved food processing methods for institutional and home use; and
4. expanded federal support for research in human nutrition.
It is important that Dietary Goals for the United States be made widely available because it is the only publication of its kind and it will be an invaluable resource for parents, school teachers, public health nurses, health educators, nutritionists, physicians and others who are involved in providing people with information about the food they eat.
The recommendations, if acted upon promptly by the Congress, can help individuals, families and those responsible for institutional food services (schools, hospitals) be better informed about the consequences of present dietary habits and practices. Moreover, they provide a practical guide for action to improve the unhealthy situation that exists.
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