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Professor Named to 2020 Dietary Guidelines Committee.

March 5, 2019
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Timothy Naimi, professor of community health sciences, has been appointed to serve on the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.

Comprised of 20 nutrition and health experts across the country, the independent advisory committee reviews scientific evidence on topics and questions identified by the United States Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS), to help inform the development of the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Naimi, who is also a professor at the School of Medicine and a physician and researcher at Boston Medical Center, says he is honored to serve on the committee.

“It is important for the public to understand the best health information about food and beverages, and I’m pleased to be invited to serve on this committee,” Naimi says.

The dietary guidelines serve as a basis for federal nutrition programs and policies, offering food-related recommendations to promote health and help prevent chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. The guidelines are published every five years to reflect the latest research findings on nutrition and health.  

The 2020 advisory committee will begin their work at a public meeting that will be announced in the coming weeks. Once the committee completes its scientific review, it will submit a report to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue and HHS Secretary Alex Acosta for consultation as the departments develop the official guidelines. For the first time, members of the public will be able to attend several committee meetings to submit questions and feedback. Their input will accompany the advisory committee’s report, and will also help inform the final guidelines.

Also for the first time, the advisory committee will adopt a life-stage approach to its review process, by incorporating dietary recommendations for infants, toddlers, and pregnant women. For each stage of life, the committee will evaluate overall dietary patterns of food and beverage consumption, as well as current intake of food groups and nutrients, nutrients that are of public health concern, and the prevalence of nutrition-related chronic health conditions. It will look closely into the health effects of added sugars, sugar-sweetened beverages, alcohol, certain dietary fats, and seafood.

No matter where people seek information about nutrition and health, Naimi says he hopes the updated dietary guidelines will educate and motivate people to make sensible choices about their food and drink consumption.

“My hope is that people will pay attention to the guidelines, or that the guidelines will inform the information sources that people regularly interface with,” Naimi says. “Even if messages about nutrition are being filtered through other sites, I think the dietary guidelines serve as an important informational foundation for various outlets.”

—Jillian McKoy

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