Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 3/25/20

A 16-member working group of doctors, nutrition researchers and food policy experts on Tuesday rolled out a sweeping set of recommendations for combating obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other health problems linked to diet.

The report marks the 50-year anniversary of the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health, convened by the Nixon administration to end hunger and malnutrition in America. Now, the country faces a new crisis marked by a rise in diet-related illnesses, wider disparities in access to healthy foods and the added challenges of climate change and sustainability, said the authors, led by Walter Willett, an epidemiology and nutrition professor at Harvard University, and Jerold Mande, a professor at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

Their 60 recommendations touch on how to change federal feeding programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and WIC; align agricultural production with sustainability goals; integrate nutrition into health care settings; and create healthy food environments, like shielding children from harmful advertising and incentivizing employers to offer wellness programs and provide healthier foods and beverages.

The report emphasizes that early child care and school settings play a key role. The authors advise restoring breakfast and lunch standards championed by former first lady Michelle Obama, which Congress and the Trump administration have since rolled back, as well as boosting funding for USDA programs supporting schools that want to serve more fresh fruits and vegetables.