Statement from Nestle Waters North America on the release of the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Nestlé Waters North America  today announced its support for the just released 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), which provides science-based advice to encourage Americans to focus on eating a healthful diet — one that focuses on foods and beverages that help achieve and maintain a healthy weight, promote health, and prevent disease.

Nestlé Waters particularly commends the DGA recommendation that the primary beverages consumed should be either calorie-free—especially water—or should contribute beneficial nutrients, such as fat-free and low-fat milk and 100% juice.

"The release of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans confirms that water is a critical component of a healthy diet," said Cheryl Dreyer, RDN, CDN Senior Regulatory Affairs Manager for Nestlé Waters North America.  "Recommending small shifts such as switching to water from beverages with added sugars, can save Americans thousands of calories per year. Drinking water, whether tap, bottled, or filtered, is essential to the health and well-being of families. Bottled water gives easy access to water wherever and whenever people want it, providing a great alternative to sugary drinks as part of a healthy lifestyle."

Though the number one packaged beverage remains carbonated soft drinks, Americans are already drinking more water in all its forms than any other type of beverage and are increasingly doing so.

Replacing a single 12-ounce, 140-calorie sugar-sweetened beverage with water each day for a year can cut about 50,000 calories per year from one's diet.¹  More statistics on the benefits of water as healthy hydration can be found in Nestlé Waters Healthy Hydration Toolkit: http://www.nestle-watersna.com/content/documents/pdfs/healthy_hydration_toolkit_march_2015.pdf

About Nestlé Waters North America

Nestlé Waters North America provides people with an unrivaled portfolio of bottled waters for healthy hydration. Brands such as NESTLÉ® PURE LIFE®, POLAND SPRING®, PERRIER® and S. PELLEGRINO® have driven Nestlé Waters North America to be the third largest non-alcoholic beverage company by volume in the U.S. Based in Stamford, CT with about 7,500 employees across the U.S., Nestlé Waters is reducing its environmental footprint across operations. The company is also committed to creating shared value and being a good neighbor in the 140 communities where it operates.  As Nestlé celebrates its 150^th anniversary, it continues to make strides to create a more sustainable future while adapting to shifting consumer preferences.

¹   Calculation based on sugar-sweetened beverages having 140 calories per 12-ounce serving based on publicly available information.

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SOURCE Nestle Waters North America