Proposed new Canadian food guide to make people fat

The newly drafted Canadian Food Guide, which is expected for early 2007, refers to old data and does not take portion sizes into consideration.

The change in portion size by product makers, nutritional information dated from 1997 and lack of regional consideration are blamed for the inaccuracy of the updated national food guide. While encouraging Canadians to eat balanced diets, regional specificities are ignored, like the cost of food in withdrawn northern regions. "Eating according to the food guide would provide far more calories than the average Canadian would need, and as a consequence, anybody following the food guide almost certainly will likely gain weight," explains Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute. Mary Bush, Health Canada's director general promises to reevalute portion sizes suggested in the new food guide, after receiving comments from nearly 7000 Canadians, online and in person.