Institute of Medicine wants to crush dietary supplements industry with regulation

• The new dietary guidelines for an increasingly flabby nation, out Wednesday, take a tough line on couch potatoes.
• Most Americans lead sedentary lives and choose their food poorly, consuming far more calories than they need even as they may be failing to get adequate nutrition, the guidelines say.
• The document goes on for more than 70 pages but can be summarized in four words: Eat less.
• Controlling overall calories, not just a diet fad, such as curbing carbohydrates, is the key --- plus a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate exercise like brisk walking or energetic gardening every day.
• The bad news for the exercise-averse: Many will need at least 60 minutes daily to prevent weight gain, and people who've lost weight may need up to 90 minutes most days to keep it off.
• For a nation in which two-thirds of the population is overweight or obese, the government's prescription is far less alluring than the siren song of diets that promise success without sacrifice.
• But the sad truth is that losing weight is hard work.
• For those who find the government's intake and exercise guidelines too daunting, the dietary supplements that promise weight loss or other health benefits are an appealing alternative.
• The institute said what has long been obvious: Supplements should be required to meet the same standards of effectiveness and safety as conventional medical treatments.
• But thanks to the industry's political clout, Congress has shielded it from regulation while hundreds of people have been killed and thousands made ill by its products.
• Will Congress now heed its doctors' advice on supplements?