Written and organized to be accessible to a wide range of readers, Improving America's Diet and Health explores how Americans can be persuaded to adopt healthier eating habits. Moving well beyond the "pamphlet and public service announcement" approach to dietary change, this volume investigates current eating patterns in this country, consumers' beliefs and attitudes about food and nutrition, the theory and practice of promoting healthy behaviors, and needs for further research.

The core of the volume consists of strategies and actions targeted to sectors of society--government, the private sector, the health professions, the education community--that have special responsibilities for encouraging and enabling consumers to eat better. These recommendations form the basis for three principal strategies necessary to further the implementation of dietary recommendations in the United States.

Contents

• COMMITTEE ON DIETARY GUIDELINES IMPLEMENTATION
• FOOD AND NUTRITION BOARD
• Preface
• 1. Summary
  • PLACING DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS IN PERSPECTIVE
  • ISSUES IN IMPLEMENTING DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS
  • THE TASKS AND THE PARTICIPANTS IN IMPLEMENTATION
  • PRINCIPAL IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES
  • DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH
  • LESSONS LEARNED AND PROCESS FOR FUTURE
  • REFERENCES
• 2. Introduction
  • PLACING DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS IN PERSPECTIVE
  • FROM GUIDANCE TO IMPLEMENTATION
  • IMPLEMENTATION AND THE POOR
  • BARRIERS AND INCENTIVES TO DIETARY CHANGE
  • THE TASK OF IMPLEMENTATION: GOALS, TACTICS, AND POLICIES
  • THE TASK AND THE IMPLEMENTORS
  • BENEFITS AND COSTS OF DIETARY CHANGE
  • REFERENCES
• 3. Determinants of Food Choice and Prospects for Modifying Food Attitudes and Behavior
  • DETERMINANTS OF FOOD CHOICE
  • CHANGES IN FOOD SELECTION
  • CHANGES IN CONSUMER ATTITUDES AND KNOWLEDGE
  • THEORIES OF ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR CHANGE
  • COMMUNICATION THROUGH THE MEDIA
  • REVIEW OF EVIDENCE ON CHANGING DIET TO BENEFIT HEALTH
  • SUMMARY
  • REFERENCES
• 4. Interpretation and Application of the Recommendations in the Diet and Health Report
  • INTERPRETATION OF THE DIET AND HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS
  • MEETING THE RECOMMENDATIONS
  • ACHIEVING SPECIFIC DIET AND HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• 5. Public Sector Strategies and Actions for Implementation
  • GOVERNMENTS AS IMPLEMENTORS
  • PRINCIPLES THAT SERVE AS A BASIS FOR IMPLEMENTATION
  • STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR
  • REFERENCES
• 6. Private Sector. Strategies and Actions for Implementation
  • INCENTIVES AND BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTATION BY THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN GENERAL
  • STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR
  • STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS APPLIED TO SPECIFIC SEGMENTS OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR
  • REFERENCES
• 7. Health-Care Professionals: Strategies and Actions for Implementation
  • MULTIPLE ROLES
  • CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE NEEDS OF SOME HEALTH-CARE PRACTITIONERS
  • STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS FOR HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONALS
  • REFERENCES
• 8. Education of the Public: Strategies and Actions for Implementation
  • STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS FOR EDUCATION OF THE PUBLIC
  • REFERENCES
• 9. Directions for Research
• APPENDIX A Dietary Recommendations
• APPENDIX B Summary of Committee's Major Recommendations
• Acronyms

This study was supported by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation through Grant No. 87-4338 and by the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through Contract No. N01-CN-85072.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to enlist distinguished members of the appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. In this, the Institute acts under both the Academy's 1863 congressional charter responsibility to be an adviser to the federal government and its own initiative in identifying issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel O. Thier is president of the Institute of Medicine.