New diet guide: Count calories and exercise
Government sees chance to change health habits
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Cave men lived a healthy lifestyle: Their calorie intake stayed low because food was hard to find, and they exercised regularly to bring home the bacon.
The government wants Americans to follow that approach. Today, however, food is at their fingertips, driving has replaced running and people are fatter than ever.
New dietary guidelines coming out Wednesday are expected to place more emphasis on counting calories and exercising daily, along with swapping whole grains for refined ones and eating a lot more vegetables and fruits.
The advice is not really new. But Americans don't heed it, so the government sees the guidelines as an opportunity to change people's ways.
The recommendations will be incorporated into the familiar Food Guide Pyramid, which most Americans know about but which few actually follow. The Agriculture Department is revising the pyramid for the first time since 1992, when it was developed.
Read more...CNN News