Diabetes rates have tripled since the low fat crusade started in 1977

This paper was published in Nutrition Volume 26, Issue 10, Pages 915-924 (October 2010)

Study title and authors:
In the face of contradictory evidence: Report of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee
Adele H. Hite, M.A.T.a, Richard David Feinman, Ph.D.b, Gabriel E. Guzman, Ph.D.c, Morton Satin, M.Sc.d, Pamela A. Schoenfeld, R.D.e, Richard J. Wood, Ph.D.f

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.nutritionjrnl.com/article/PIIS0899900710002893/fulltext#sec18
 
Over 30 years ago the initial Dietary Goals for Americans (1977) proposed increases in carbohydrate intake and decreases in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and salt consumption that are carried further in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) Report.
 
In the three decades since the dietary goals were issued:
(a) Carbohydrate consumption has increased
(b) Overall fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol consumption have decreased to near or below targeted levels
(c) Caloric intake remains within recommended levels
(d) Leisure-time physical activity has increased slightly
 
The author notes that since these dietary changes have been successfully accomplished the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the US has increased dramatically in the past three decades and the number of Americans diagnosed with diabetes has tripled.
 
Hite finds:
(i) There is a lack of supporting evidence for the proposed dietary recommendations.
(ii) It is time to reexamine how US dietary guidelines are created and ask whether the current process is still appropriate for our needs.
(iii) An impartial panel of scientists consisting of biochemists, anthropologists, geneticists, physicists, etc., who are not directly tied to the public health nutritional policy should decide the dietary guidelines as such a panel would be able to hear all sides in the debate with few preconceived notions. They could advise impartial recommendations which would be based on a complete and accurate assessment of available science rather than a narrow perspective of accepted nutritional practice.
 
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