The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are the cornerstone of Federal nutrition policy and nutrition education activities. Since 1980, the Guidelines have been jointly issued and updated every 5 years by the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS).
In 1998, the USDA and HHS Secretaries selected 11 nutrition scientists and physicians to serve on the 2000 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. The Committee was responsible for reviewing and updating the 1995 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Publications
After a 1½ year of review and 4 meetings, the Committee submitted their final report to USDA and HHS: Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2000.
In May 2000, the Secretaries of USDA and HHS released a 40-page consumer booklet entitled, Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which became the 5th edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This booklet evolved from the previous 4x9 inch brochures to a larger 8½ x11 inch booklet. Also released was an abbreviated 10-page fold-out consumer brochure in both English and Spanish. The President of the United States mentioned the release of these Dietary Guidelines for Americans during his radio address to the Nation.
To familiarize people with the new information in this 5th edition of the Dietary Guidelines, USDA produced a chart comparing all five editions of the Guidelines as well as an introductory PowerPoint presentation.
Based on these new guidelines, USDA later published five consumer brochures as part of its Putting the Guidelines into Practice series. These include:
- Get Moving... For the Fun and Health of It!
- Fabulous Fruits... Versatile Vegetables
- Where Do Your Favorite Foods Fit?
- Get on the Grain Train (updated with MyPyramid, March 2008 version)
- How Much Are You Eating?
See all of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans from 1980 to the present.