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REMARKS BY:	DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE:		National Nutrition Summit, Washington, D.C.
DATE:		May 30, 2000

Because HHS and USDA play such central roles in shaping nutrition policy, I've always been interested in how government first became involved in the food business. As it turns out, long before anyone ever dreamed of the FDA or CDC, the ancient Egyptians were giving government a role in how food is used. Some scholars claim that a Pharoah took his oath of office by placing his hand on a sacred onion. With all due respect to the ancient Egyptians, if our leaders decide to take their oaths on a vegetable - I will expect them to swear allegiance on the entire "Food Guide pyramid."

Today's National Nutrition Summit is a milestone event in the history of our nation's nutritional health. But the seeds for today actually took root years ago - in 1969. They were planted by Dr. Jean Mayer and the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health. On the day that Dr. Mayer accepted the enormous responsibility of leading America's nutritional efforts, the President said: "All of us are shocked that millions of Americans are malnourished because they are too poor to purchase the right kinds of foods."

And everyday since - in every possible way - this Administration has worked to build upon and protect our nation's food safety net and nutritional safety net. We were the first Administration in 20 years to get a Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill that includes a program for after-school snacks. We serve more than 240 million home-delivered meals to American seniors every year - and almost 900,000 pre-school children receive free meals as part of Head Start.

We put a structure in place to assure that every government agency involved with food safety works cooperatively to meet common goals. We modernized our food safety programs to respond better to the challenges created by the wide variety of foods now available in the United States. We worked to ensure that consumers have information they need to make healthy dietary choices, through better science, food labeling, and consistent dietary advice. We increased our surveillance of foodborne diseases through our FoodNet partnership with CDC, FDA, and USDA.

We made a special effort to address diet-related diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and cardio-vascular disease in minority communities. And we always made sure that our policy decisions on nutrition were driven by medical science - not political science.

But these efforts didn't begin with us. Although it may be hard to believe in the year 2000, but only three decades ago, hunger was as much a part of America as spacious skies and amber waves of grain. During the 1960's, Senator Robert Kennedy traveled to the poor south and saw listless, starving children. Many living in rundown shacks. A generation ago, the author Michael Harrington told us more about this Other America, this hungry America - in the Mississippi Delta, Appalachia, on tribal reservations, and in cities. Millions of Americans were simply too poor to feed their families properly.

That disturbing reality led to the White House conference in 1969, which focused our nation's attention, for the first time, on the fact that proper nutrition is critical to the health and well-being of America. Two landmark policy initiatives emerged from that conference - food labeling and the school lunch program. Both dramatically changed public health for the better.

Since that first White House conference, on one occasion after another, from one Administration to the next, we've built upon that initial success. Except for a few isolated pockets, for the most part, we've succeeded at ending hunger in America. One reason we've been able to do that is our policy of developing dietary guidelines. As Secretary Glickman noted, the first Dietary Guidelines for Americans were published in 1980.

Since then, they've been updated and revised every five years. In 1996, Secretary Glickman and I released the 4th Edition - what we then called the "Gold Standard" for nutrition and health. Now, thanks to the terrific efforts of Dr. Cutberto Garza, of Cornell University, and the scientific advisory committee - the 5th edition of the guidelines is bound to be a bestseller.

These new guidelines continue to emphasize balance, moderation, and variety in food choices, with a special emphasis on grain products, vegetables, and fruits. I try to eat mine all at the same time. They also offer more practical advice and scientific information than ever before to help American consumers make the smartest possible decisions when it comes to what we eat.

Most important, the guidelines highlight the close relationship between physical activity and healthy eating habits. By physical activity, I don't just mean squeezing our bodies into spandex and working out to a Tai Bo video. Physical activity is everything from walking the dog to dancing with the vacuum cleaner - as long as we do it at least 30 minutes most days of the week. From supermarkets to health centers, and from classrooms to boardrooms, our message today is loud and clear:

"Diet and exercise are a duet - when one dances, the other claps."

This message has never been more important than right now. The scales are not lying: Nearly 55 percent of all adults and ten percent of all children are overweight. We may have dramatically reduced hunger in America. But now we have a serious weight problem.

I'm proud to tell you that when I released the guidelines in 1996, I weighed 15 pounds more than I do today. I can tell you that the answer to weight loss isn't to severely restrict calories and food choices. I'm reminded of a remark Erma Bombeck once made about dieting. She said, "I've been on a constant diet for the last two decades. I've lost a total of 789 pounds. By all accounts, I should be hanging from a charm bracelet."

Well, when it comes to crash diets and fad diets, the guidelines are clear - Stop doing them. They won't last. Instead, take the weight off slowly and steadily through a powerful combination of sensible eating and physical activity. Why is this approach better? Because it works - and because it saves lives.

Four of our country's leading killers - heart disease, some cancers, diabetes, and stroke - are linked to diet and the lack of physical activity - leading to some 300,000 deaths each year. In 1969, obesity in children was not even an issue. Today, obesity among children has doubled, and obesity among adults has increased by 50 percent during the last two decades.

That's why, for the first time ever, the Guidelines include a comprehensive discussion on weight, including clear definitions of healthy weight, overweight, and obesity using Body Mass Index measures. Also today, for the first time in more than 20 years, we're releasing new pediatric growth charts.

The 1977 charts for infants were based on Caucasian, formula-fed, middle-class infants from southwestern Ohio. At the time, that was the best information we had. I'm from Ohio. I love Ohio. But Ohio is not the whole country. The new charts more accurately reflect America's ethnic and racial diversity. Our survey traveled across the country and actually measured the height and weight of a representative sample of America's children.

With these more accurate measures, health professionals now have a better-calibrated instrument to track the physical growth of our nation's 82 million infants, children, and adolescents. The new BMI index can identify a child's tendency for weight gain as early as age two. And parents have a chance to take immediate actions through diet and exercise.

As we celebrate our progress today, we certainly cannot rest - or claim victory. Not when there's so much left to do. And even more to lose. As you know, in January, we announced the nation's public health goals for the next decade - the Healthy People 2010 initiative. Healthy People 2010 has two important objectives. First, not only do we want Americans to live longer, we want them to live healthier and better. And second, we want to eliminate health disparities among racial and ethnic groups in America.

The Dietary Guidelines are an important tool in meeting the goals of Healthy People 2010. That's why Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher, will convene a workshop in the fall to develop a national action plan to address this epidemic of obesity.

All Americans should have a chance to achieve the very best health status possible - especially children. That's why in mid-June, CDC will kick off the Kids-Walk-to-School program to encourage children to build physical fitness into their daily routine. Kids-Walk-to-School guides will be available on the Internet to anyone interested in working with children, or developing partnerships with local police departments, schools, PTA's, and other community groups.

In addition, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is building a consortium of sponsors within NIH and other science institutions to support research initiatives in the area of diet and infectious diseases. NIH will also co-sponsor an International Food and Nutrition Forum with the National Academy of Sciences to create a dialogue among scientists and non-governmental agencies about emerging international issues in diet and disease. As a nation, we must commit more energy and more resources to understanding the relationship between diet, excessive weight gain, and disease.

So in closing, let me give an invitation and several challenges. I not only invite - I challenge everyone here - and that includes me and Secretary Glickman - to use the guidelines. To make them our own. The guidelines are advice we can live with.

I challenge both public institutions and private individuals - to reduce the medical and social costs of an unhealthy diet for all Americans. I challenge all of us to remain vigilant about eliminating the remaining hunger that threatens our most vulnerable citizens - children and the elderly. I challenge everyone to turn off the television, get off the couch, and take a walk with our children. And, finally, I challenge future Administrations to commit more resources to research the basic mechanisms of obesity, and find innovative and effective ways to get the message out to schools, worksites, and communities.

Our message is simple: Good nutrition and exercise are fundamental to public health. The two go hand in hand. Within that partnership is hope, victory, and a long life. It is now my privilege to introduce a man who was one of the nation's pioneers of the dietary guidelines. My friend Ambassador George McGovern, . . .