The ABC's of Good Eating and Fitness

(HealthScout) -- Good nutrition and health can be as easy as relearning those ABCs.

That's the message being served up by the American Dietetic Association (ADA) during National Nutrition Month in March: A is Aim for fitness, B is Build a healthy base, and C is Choose sensibly.

"We think that this is a very consumer-friendly message, that there are a lot of good ideas within this ABC concept that people will be able to pick up on very easily," says ADA spokeswoman Nadine Pazder, an outpatient dietician at the Morton Plant Memorial Hospital in Clearwater, Fla.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, the ADA says: Half of all Americans and almost 5 million children are overweight. And millions are at elevated risk for heart disease with high cholesterol, blood pressure and insulin levels because of their diet.

But, Pazder says Americans seem weary of hearing mixed and often contradictory messages about their eating habits. He says one month a new study says something is good for you, and the next month another study says the opposite.

"We're trying to take a more positive approach. We're trying to show them how easy it is to make simple changes that are going to make a great impact on their health," Pazder says.

"People seem very, very confused about what good nutrition is, so we wanted to try and keep it as simple as possible," says Keith Ayoob, an ADA spokesman and associate professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

Aiming for fitness is the first step. That doesn't mean you need to start running marathons, Ayoob says: Begin slowly and build your fitness gradually. Moderation is the key. Trying to do too much or becoming obsessive about exercise will only frustrate you because such high levels of physical activity are difficult to maintain.

Building a healthy base refers to lifestyle modifications, like eating more fruits and vegetables or whole grain foods to improve your diet.

Ayoob says eating at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day can have a huge impact on your health.

Again, he says a gradual approach is best. For example, focus on one eating habit a month; eat one extra fruit or vegetable a day or replace one fast food meal with a low-fat meal once a week.

"That's not a big deal. Then, over a year, you've changed 12 eating habits, and you probably don't even have to change that many," Ayoob says.

Choosing sensibly means reducing your intake of saturated fat and cholesterol, limiting your intake of sugars and salt and improving your overall eating plan.

The ADA suggests you vary your food choices to provide your body with the nutrients you need for energy, health and growth.

Ayoob says this doesn't mean you have to exclude foods you love. It means you need to pay attention to the frequency and portion sizes of certain foods, he says.

"We don't promote diets. We promote lifestyles and healthy habits," Ayoob says.

This ABC doesn't require a lot of complicated instructions or any books. Once you've adopted healthy habits, you can use them the rest of your life, Ayoob says.

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