IN the wake of the US Government's advice to its weightier citizens to shape up, Bermuda's Department of Health has weighed in with similar advice to change bad lifestyle habits.

Last week, in a sharp reversal of previous advice that a gentle 20-minute workout three times a week and a moderate diet were sufficient to maintain a healthy body, the US Agriculture and Health and Human Services Departments told Americans to slash their calorie intake and exercise 30 to 90 minutes a day.

The weight of the average American adult has increased to the point where 64 per cent of Americans are overweight, and nearly a third are clinically obese.

Mellonie Furbert, a dietician with the Ministry of Health's Nutrition Services Department, has been active in the Ministry's Healthy Weight Week.

With her colleague Cymone Hollis, she has been offering advice and information from a van parked at City Hall on Wednesday, yesterday, and today, from 12.30 to 2 p.m. Her advice is not markedly different from that offered in the US, and her department concedes that Bermuda has a similar problem with weight and obesity.

"Our guidelines are very similar to those just issued in the US," advised Ms Furbert, "but we recommend different servings according to age and level of activity.

"For example, we recommend five servings per day of fruits and vegetables for women and older adults, seven servings for children, teenage girls, and most active men and women, and nine to 13 servings for teenaged boys and active men. It's according to how active you are, and these foods provide many of the vitamins and nutrients you need.

"We are also putting new emphasis on whole grains; they contain very important vitamins and minerals, and also vital chemicals which help fight different diseases. They are also a satisfying part of a diet, and help people maintain their weight better.

"The new US guidelines are also highlighting the importance of calcium, because we know that osteoporosis affects all groups, and we have been recommending calcium-rich foods from either dairy products, or the calcium-fortified juices or soy milk alternatives for the lactose-intolerant, and also the dark-green leafy vegetables and light-coloured greens.

"I am really excited about the new guidelines, because they are really addressing the things that people need to be aware of.

"The US guidelines also talk about the need for more exercise, and they are right, particularly in their focus on adulthood. Adults want to slow down as they get older, and we know that it is actually time to speed up, and take more exercise, not less."

The new US guidelines advised that "eating fewer calories while increasing physical activity are the keys to controlling body weight", repeating some of the best known and least pursued advice in the (overly) developed world.

Oscar Wilde said, sarcastically, that "the only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself", but you should know that the US government advises citizens to eat whole wheat bread rather than the refined white version; to eat a lot more vegetables and fruit; to eat whole fruits and vegetables rather than fruit and vegetable juices, and to consume "three one-ounce servings of whole grains each day", to reduce the risk of heart disease and help maintain weight.

The advice is not really new, but the government sees the guidelines as an opportunity to change people's ways.

"It has been a big problem in the past," said Margo Wootan, intending no pun, "that basically the Federal government has published a booklet and then crossed their fingers and hoped that Americans ate better."

Ms Wootan, nutrition policy director for the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, said: "That's clearly not been enough. What we need is a significant investment in programmes and changes in policy and the food environment that help Americans to eat better and watch their weight."

Fat chance, sceptics might respond, but the guidelines were based on recommendations of a 13-member panel of scientists and doctors who spent nearly a year reviewing Americans' diet and health. After a year of intense study, the committee concluded that people lead sedentary lifestyles and choose their food poorly, a conclusion that can be reached in ten minutes in a mall.

In a swipe at those whose bookshelves are groaning under the weight of diet books, the panel said that "controlling calories ? not limiting carbohydrates, as some popular diets recommend ? is key to controlling weight".

But daily exercise is also "key". The panel recommended "a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate exercise ? brisk walking or gardening ? on most days". Those who scoff at the idea of gardening as moderate exercise better be in very good shape, because the panel advised that "many adults need to exercise for 60 minutes or more to prevent weight gain, and people who have lost weight may need to exercise for 60 to 90 minutes to keep the weight off".

The panel said to "choose fats and carbohydrates wisely. That means severely restricting 'trans fat' that can clog arteries, and consuming fibre-rich whole fruits and whole grain breads rather than juices and refined grains. People should eat five to 13 servings each day of fruits and vegetables, depending on their age and activity."

For those who think that eating 13 servings of fruits and vegetables a day would leave little room for any other activity, the panel translated the requirement to mean 4? cups of fruits and vegetables for the average person, and Robert Earl, senior director for nutrition policy for the National Food Processors Association (NFPA), offered practical advice.

"Let's say you drink a serving of orange juice, eat a banana, have a salad with one of your meals, and a vegetable for dinner," Mr. Earl said. "I'll bet you're at close to four cups already, if not more. The important thing is to move consumers in the right direction."

NFPA, just renamed The Food Products Association (FPA), is "the voice of the $500 billion food processing industry on scientific and public policy issues, food safety, food security, nutrition, technical and regulatory matters and consumer affairs". Its members include such exemplars of good nutrition as Frito-Lay, General Mills, Hershey Foods, Hormel, Kellogg, Kraft, Nabisco, Pepsico, Taco Bell, and Ernst & Young, whose output would not normally be considered edible.

Its mission statement includes "translating its food science and technical expertise into public policy strategies and communications programmes for assuring favourable issue results". Women may be the major buyers of their products, but its 63-person board includes three women.

In its own press release last week, the FPA's Mr. Earl advised that consumers "should increase their intake of fruit and vegetables", which are not sold by his members in their natural state, but also said that "consumers need to know that canned, frozen and dried fruit and vegetables, as well as fruit juices and juice-containing beverages, can play an important role in ensuring adequate fruit intake".

Ms Furbert noted that the neither the US nor the Bermuda guidelines emphasised the benefits of fruit juice.

"The guidelines do not recommend fruit juice, because of the very high calorie levels in many fruit juices. We both emphasise the preference for whole fruits and whole grains. In our recommendations for good eating, we specify food measurement in cups and serving sizes. There are different measures for different foods. For example, one slice of whole-grain bread is one 'serving'."

The FPA does not like the notion that there is such a thing as bad food; there seems to be no fat, sugar or salt-laden product that deserves censure.

Earl suggested that the panel "emphasise positive dietary choices ? to ensure good nutrition and adequate hydration ? rather taking a good food/bad food approach to dietary advice, which does not work", by which he means that it does not work for his members.

In case the salad-eating scientists didn't get the message, he concluded that the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services should be commended for their work "to create positive dietary messages that focus on variety, enjoyment, and energy balance".

Enjoyment and energy balance are NFPA/FPA code words for processed foods loaded with trans fats and sugar to which we all too easily succumb.

Trans fats, artery-clogging fats that are formed when vegetable oils are hardened into margarine or shortening, are heavily represented in such delicacies as french fries, fried chicken, doughnuts, cookies, pastries and crackers, all of which contain between 30 and 50 per cent trans fatty acids. They increase blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, while lowering levels of high-density lipoprotein (LPL), or "good" cholesterol.

The NFPA had ensured "favourable issue results" thus far by lobbying fiercely against the listing of trans fats on nutrition labels in foods, so consumers would have no way of knowing how much trans fats they were eating.

According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, author of the , trans fats are not only major ingredients in bakery items and fried foods, but also in cereals and waffles, and "one tip to determine the amount of trans fat in a food is to read the ingredient label and look for shortening, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil. The higher up the list these ingredients appear, the more trans fat."

He reports that NFPA members like Frito-Lay and Nestle are taking steps "to eliminate trans fat in some products", and that a lawsuit was filed against member Nabisco, a unit of member Kraft Foods, "seeking a ban on the sale of Oreo cookies because they contain trans fat, making them dangerous to eat."

Ms Furbert said she agreed "wholeheartedly" about the need to restrict the intake of trans fats.

"Especially here in Bermuda," she advised, "where everything is imported, and the 'shelf life' of products is important.

"A large number of products on the shelf include hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, which are 'trans fatty acids' but not described that way on the label. The research has not been done yet to set a safe level for trans fats, but they know that people with a high level of trans fats in their diets have a higher incidence of heart disease and cancer. Practically everything on the food shelf contains trans fats, which help lengthen 'shelf life'."

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only said that "intake of trans fats should be as low as possible", without specifying any upper limits, perhaps because there is no good measure for trans fat in the diet.

In what Dr. Mercola saw as "a step in the right direction, the FDA has announced a final rule requiring food manufacturers to list trans fat on Nutrition Facts labels. The bad news is that the labels are not required until 2006."

Ms Furbert has noticed that while that change is mandatory next year, some food producers are making changes already.

"Some manufacturers have taken note, and are putting the trans fatty acids on their labels, and some are removing the hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils, and substituting plain vegetable oils. I have noticed that trend."

The portly Oscar Wilde might not have approved of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and whole grains; he said that he could resist everything but temptation.