AMERICAN ITALIAN FOOD COALITION RELEASES “PERSPECTIVES ON POSITIVE NUTRITION”
On September 15, the American Italian Food Coalition (AIFC) released Perspectives on Positive Nutrition, a report which outlines how expert opinions on positive nutrition indicate the importance of moving away from demonizing isolated food categories for evidence-based, holistic nutrition practices, such as the Mediterranean Diet model. This is the second report in the AIFC’s white paper series. The first paper, The U.S.-Italy Strategic Partnership, examines the long-standing strategic relationship between the U.S. and Italy and is available here.
Perspectives on Positive Nutrition emphasizes how, “Public health policies traditionally have promoted restrictive and reductionist approaches to diets with limited results…we can work away from reductionist approaches to nutrition through systems-based approaches, considering the foods we eat in totality and how all the different nutrients fit together in our daily lives.”
AIFC’s Co-Chairs Hon. Susan Molinari and Lucy Calautti released the following statement on the occasion of the report’s release: “Positive nutrition must be the focus of our population to replace reductionist approaches with more constructive, consumer friendly models. With the Dietary Guidelines for Americans under review and the Farm Bill set for reauthorization this year, we encourage lawmakers to seize this pivotal moment in food policy to help shape a healthier future characterized by evidence-based action and positive approaches to nutrition.”
Key takeaways include:
The core concept of positive nutrition is to encourage consumption of healthy, nutritious foods as part of a balanced diet, rather than demonizing less nutrient-dense alternatives, and the importance of avoiding focus on individual nutrients in isolation.
The Mediterranean Diet model has been linked to numerous health benefits, including a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer, supporting healthy blood pressure and cholesterol, and slowing the decline of brain function during aging.
Evidence shows restrictive diets and isolated actions have a limited impact on obesity, and the prevalence of obesity has continued to rise. Systems-based thinking aims to move beyond binary thinking about good versus bad food, such as reducing sugar will directly result in reducing obesity.
More than half of Americans were found to be extremely or very interested in having nutritional information presented in a consistent way on the front of all food and beverage packaging, with the majority agreeing consistent front of package nutrition information would make healthy choices easier to make.[i]
Read the full report here.
The AIFC has been actively and continually advocating for a positive nutrition approach to food policy with Members of Congress, their staff, and industry stakeholders. In September 2022, the AIFC hosted the Positive Nutrition Roundtable, a multi-day event in partnership with the Mediterranean Diet Roundtable (MDR) and Cambridge Food Science that brought together world-renowned experts in nutrition and health to discuss the benefits of positive nutrition. Key takeaways from this roundtable are included in an edition of the international scientific journal Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia, and Obesity, which published “Positive Nutrition: Shifting the Focus from Nutrients to Diet for a Healthy Lifestyle.” Building on lessons learned in the 2022 Positive Nutrition Roundtable, AIFC hosted the Positive Nutrition Congressional Briefing in June 2023 to bring together nutrition and agriculture Congressional staff as well as Italian food product industry leaders to discuss shifting to positive nutritional strategies.
###
The American Italian Food Coalition is an alliance of more than 450 Italian companies, manufacturers, and trade associations dedicated to ensuring American consumers continue to have access to high-quality, affordable imported Italian products including pasta, coffee, biscuits, and wafers.
[i] Food Insight. (2021). IFIC Survey: Knowledge, Understanding and Use of Front-of-Pack Labeling in Food and Beverage Decisions: Insights from Shoppers in the U.S. https://foodinsight.org/ific-survey-fop-labeling/