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Cross-Cutting Topics of Public Health Importance Subcommittee Members
Added Sugars
• Miriam Nelson, PhD, Tufts University (Co-Lead)
• Mary Story, PhD, RD, Duke University (Co-Lead)
• Cheryl Anderson, PhD, MPH, University of California – San Diego
• Wayne Campbell, PhD, Purdue University
• Frank Hu, MD, PhD, MPH, Harvard School of Public Health
• Alice H. Lichtenstein, Dsc, Tufts University
• Barbara Millen, DrPH, RD, Millenium Prevention
• Marian Neuhouser, PhD, RD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research CenterSodium
• Cheryl Anderson, PhD, MPH, University of California – San Diego (Lead)
• Wayne Campbell, PhD, Purdue University
• Steven Clinton, MD, PhD, The Ohio State University
• Alice H. Lichtenstein, Dsc, Tufts UniversitySaturated Fat
• Frank Hu, MD, PhD, MPH, Harvard School of Public Health (Lead)
• J. Thomas Brenna, PhD, Cornell University
• Alice H. Lichtenstein, Dsc, Tufts University
• Barbara Millen, DrPH, RD, Millenium PreventionNutrition Evidence Library Team
• Julie E. Obbagy, PhD, RD
• Tricia Psota, PhD, RD
• Yat Ping Wong, MLS, MPHDietary Guidelines Management Team
• Eve Essery Stoody, PhD
• Elizabeth Rahavi, RD
• Rachel Fisher, MS, MPH, RD
• Margaret McDowell, PhD, MPH, RD
• Kellie Casavale, PhD, RD
• Patricia Britten, PhD
Overview
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 included guidance on sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars, and the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee determined that a reexamination of the evidence on these topics was necessary to evaluate whether revisions to the guidance were warranted. These topics were considered to be of public health importance because each has been associated with negative health outcomes when over-consumed. As the Committee considered it essential to address these topics across two or more Subcommittees, Working Groups were formed with representatives from the relevant Subcommittees to ensure that the topics were thoroughly addressed in a coordinated way. Additionally, the Committee acknowledged that a potential unintended consequence of a recommendation on added sugars might be that consumers and manufacturers replace added sugars with low-calorie sweeteners. As a result, the Committee also examined evidence on low-calorie sweeteners to inform statements on this topic. The updated findings in this chapter will help inform recommendations on these topics for the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Although sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars are receiving particular focus here, it is important to consider these aspects of the diet in the context of a healthy dietary pattern. A healthy dietary pattern has little room for sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars. That said, these components of the diet are modifiable, and strategies at various levels of the socio-ecologic model, ranging from policy to consumer education, can promote shifts in intake to support healthy dietary patterns.
Below are links to the questions answered using a NEL systematic review approach.
Systematic Review Questions
Sodium
What is the relationship between sodium intake and blood pressure in children between the ages of two and eighteen?
What is the relationship between sodium intake and risk of cardiovascular disease?
Added Sugars
What is the relationship between added sugars and risk of cardiovascular disease?
For additional information, see: Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, Part D. Chapter 6: Cross-Cutting Topics of Public Health Importance. Information in the report was vetted by the full committee and presented at public meetings; however, more detailed supporting information on each specific systematic review is available on the NEL website.
For 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Subcommittee work structure and member organization, see Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Appendix E-9.
For 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and support staff membership and acknowledgments lists, see: Membership and Appendix E-10: Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Report Acknowledgments