Calories, weight & physical activity

The Dietary Guidelines offers nine key recommendations for the general population. The first three deal with calorie needs, weight management and the role of physical activity. A brief overview of these guidelines is as follows:

Adequate Nutrients Within Calorie Needs

- Consume a variety of nutrient-dense foods and beverages within and among the basic food groups while choosing foods that limit the intake of saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, salt, and alcohol.
- Meet recommended intakes within energy needs by adopting a balanced eating pattern, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Guide or the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Eating Plan.

Almost two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. Many Americans consume high calories, too much saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, added sugars and salt. In addition, they are not meeting recommended intake of the nutrients necessary for good health. According to the latest research, intake levels for calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium, and vitamin E may be a concern for children and adolescents. For adults, intake levels of the same nutrients and vitamins A and C are of concern. To learn more about recommended intakes of nutrients, see Dietary Reference Intakes.

To meet nutrient needs without excess calorie intake, the Dietary Guidelines recommend adopting a balanced eating pattern, such as the Food Guide MyPyramid or the DASH eating plan. In general, both meal patterns encourage consuming vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains and low-fat or fat-free milk products, while avoiding refined grains, saturated and trans fats, added sugars and salt.

Weight Management

- To maintain body weight in a healthy range and balance calories from foods and beverages with calories expended.
- To prevent gradual weight gain over time, make small decreases in food and beverage calories and increase physical activity.

The incidence of obesity in the United States has doubled in the past two decades. Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight can help to decrease the risk for high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. It has also been associated with respiratory problems, osteoarthritis and certain types of cancer. There are different methods to determine healthy weight for children and adults. One useful tool is the body mass index.

Balancing calorie intake and calories expended in activities can help in achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight. This may be accomplished by choosing sensible foods and controlling portion sizes. Since most adults gain weight slowly overtime, a reduction of 50 to 100 calories per day may prevent this gradual weight gain. For weight loss, a reduction of 500 calories a day, while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet is a common goal. Also, if an individual is sedentary, increasing the activity level is recommended to maintain or lose weight.

Physical Activity

- Engage in regular physical activity and reduce sedentary activities to promote health, psychological well-being, and a healthy body weight.
- Achieve physical fitness by including cardiovascular conditioning, stretching exercises for flexibility, and resistance exercises or calisthenics for muscle strength and endurance.

For healthy American adults that want to improve their fitness level and reduce the risk of chronic disease, experts suggest participating in 30 minutes or more of moderate to intense activity on a daily basis. However, for some individuals, this may not be adequate to maintain or lose weight.. Up to 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity per day may be needed to prevent gradual, unhealthy weight gain in adulthood.

To sustain weight loss for previously overweight people, 60 to 90 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per day is recommended. Older adults and those with medical conditions should consult with their physician before beginnin any exercise program.

A balanced diet and regular physical activities can help to achieve or maintain a healthy weight and can contribute to improving one's overall health. Exercise is not only an excellent tool in the prevention of heart disease, but it also offers dramatic benefits for heart patients. Physically, it can slow or even reverse the process of atherosclerosis, as well as lower blood pressure and reduce cholesterol levels. Emotionally, it can reduce levels of stress and depression.