Bodybuilding.com - USDA & HHS Release New Dietary Guidelines!

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Did you know?
A University of Virginia research team identified the adrenal hormone release function as possibly playing the central role in growth hormone release.

The changes are finally here. Can we now say the government is actually trying to help? Well yes we can. But in the end these are only ideas on paper. The rest is up to you. Are you up to the challenge? Read on to learn more.

USDA & HHS Release New Dietary Guidelines!

By: Phil Campbell

Some Real Surprises!

Dietary Guidelines is published by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) only once every five years. The publication contains dietary guidelines and recommendations about exercise.

The most recent publication departs totally from the former 30-minutes-of-activity-a-day and everything will be okay standard (which had been the mainstay of medical advice for 20 years) to now recommending much higher levels of intensity.

While the new guidelines don't endorse the Ready Set Go Fitness program, the publication clearly endorses the value of high-intensity exercise and comprehensive Ready Set Go Fitness types of training plans.

New Guidelines

The new Dietary Guidelines publication is a great example of applying research findings and changing outdated standards to attack a public health problem head on.

Dietary guidelines typically become the standard of practice for medical and health professionals. The guidelines will be used as authoritative standards, which ultimately, get translated into street-level advice about how to improve health and reduce the risk for major chronic diseases.

Engage in regular physical activity and reduce sedentary activities to promote health, psychological well-being, and a healthy body weight.
To reduce the risk of chronic disease in adulthood: Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, above usual activity, at work or home on most days of the week.
For most people, greater health benefits can be obtained by engaging in physical activity of more vigorous intensity or longer duration.
To help manage body weight and prevent gradual, unhealthy body weight gain in adulthood: Engage in approximately 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity on most days of the week while not exceeding caloric intake requirements.
To sustain weight loss in adulthood: Participate in at least 60 to 90 minutes of daily moderate-intensity physical activity while not exceeding caloric intake requirements. Some people may need to consult with a healthcare provider before participating in this level of activity.
Achieve physical fitness by including cardiovascular conditioning, stretching exercises for flexibility, and resistance exercises (weightlifting) or calisthenics (plyometrics) for muscle strength and endurance.

Do You Think These New Guidelines Will Be Helpful?

Yes.
No.
Not Sure.

Government Done Right

This aggressive move by HHS and USDA should be applauded as a situation of "government done right." These large federal agencies, in essence, set up a fight between experiencing lifelong fitness versus living a life of obesity and being medically overweight.

The reason every battle against obesity and being overweight during the last 20 years sits in the lost column is because the former recommendations concerning exercise were based on namby-pamby standards of 30-minutes-of-daily-activity. This level of exercise intensity has been shown to be ineffective in improving fitness.

Researchers show in a new study that high-intensity exercise is superior to moderate-intensity exercise in improving fitness. The researchers report:

These data suggest that high-intensity training is more effective in improving cardiorespiratory fitness than moderate-intensity training of equal energy cost. These data also suggest that changes in coronary heart disease risk factors are influenced by exercise intensity.

Changes in cardiorespiratory fitness and coronary heart disease risk factors
following 24 weeks of moderate- or high-intensity exercise of equal energy cost
O'donovan G.
Journal Of Applied Physiology 2005 Jan 7

Increasing activity is the perfect place to start for someone sedentary. A great place to start, but this level of exercise does little except prepare the body for higher intensities that will produce results.

Now it's time to get-it-on; progressively increase exercise intensity (after getting medical clearance), and land some knockout blows to obesity and being overweight by putting on gloves that have some real punch. This is high-intensity exercise!

To View The HHS & USDA Dietary Guidelines Click Here.
To View The Study Click Here.

Who is Phil Campbell?

If you've seen a fitness magazine lately like Physical Magazine, Muscle Mag, On Fitness, MS Fitness, or Brian Mackenzie's Successful Coaching, you may have seen an article or a quote by masters' athlete and author Phil Campbell, M.S., M.A., Age 51. You may have seen him on the cover of Personal Fitness Professional, or heard him speak during a Health & Fitness Expo or during Greta Blackburn's Malibu Fit Camp.

You may own a piece of award winning Vision Fitness cardio equipment programmed with his Sprint 8 Workout or know a professional athlete who has attended his Speed Camp. His words will inspire you. If you've not read his book, Ready Set Go Synergy Fitness visit www.readysetgofitness.com for more info.

Phil Campbell
philcampbell@charter.net

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