The American Medical Association (AMA) announced three new public health policies at their annual meeting pertaining to the oil spill, nutritional labels and improving the affordability of healthy food to obesity in Americans.
To address public health concerns from the oil spill in the Gulf, the AMA will work with federal agencies to recruit experts who can speak to the short- and long-term effects of the oil spill from a human health and environmental standpoint.
"How badly the oil spill and clean-up efforts will effect air and water quality in both the immediate and long-term remains unknown," said AMA Board Member Edward L. Langston, M.D. in a statement. "It's important that the health community take a lead role in addressing the health implications of this oil spill."
Second, the AMA will urge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to lower its qualification for food labeled ‘trans fat free’ or ‘zero trans fat.’ Under current regulations food can have up to 0.5 grams of trans fat and still be considered trans fat free. The AMA urges the FDA to require food labeled ‘trans fat free to have zero trans fats.
“Reducing or eliminating the consumption of trans fats leads to good overall health and a lower risk for heart disease, but it's difficult to make dietary changes if food labels are unclear," said Langston. "To help facilitate clear, concise, and uniform labeling, the AMA urges the FDA to use more precise processes to measure the fat content in foods and include the most accurate nutritional information on food labels."
Finally, the AMA has put a priority on reducing obesity by encouraging food producers to decrease the price discrepancy between healthy and unhealthy food options. Since unhealthy foods are often less expensive than healthy ones, people consume these foods at a higher rate because of the lower price point.
“Consuming unhealthy, high fat and high calorie foods increases the risk for obesity and its health consequences," said Langston. "When the price difference between healthy and unhealthy foods puts healthy options out of reach, it's clear that something must be done to close the price gap and make healthy food options available to everyone."
Source: AMA
