Mission: Readiness Statement on 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Report

Wednesday, July 15 – Today Mission: Readiness released the following statement on the release of the final advisory report by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee to the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services. The recommendations included in this report, which you can read here, will be utilized to create the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans:

The retired admirals and generals of Mission: Readiness applaud the Advisory Committee’s focus on reducing childhood obesity. Mission: Readiness members were particularly encouraged to see that the final report noted the importance of young people getting the majority of their calories from nutritious foods, and focused on reducing youth consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.

In March, nearly 60 members of Mission: Readiness submitted written comments to the Committee highlighting the importance of addressing childhood obesity in order to ensure our future national security. These comments also called on the Committee to include recommendations that promote drinking water as a beverage of choice and support the inclusion of a water symbol on the MyPlate graphic.

Mission: Readiness members have been working for the past decade to advocate for federal programs that encourage healthy habits and provide young people with access to fresh and nutritious foods. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans play an instrumental role in shaping the strong, science-based nutrition standards of the National School Lunch Program and other crucial child nutrition programs that promote the health and well-being of our youngest generation. Mission: Readiness believes that the recommendations from the Advisory Committee are an important step in the right direction.