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 1978, the USDA and HHS (formerly called the Department of Health, Education and Welfare) Joint Coordinating Committee voluntarily appointed a task force of scientists within the two departments to develop nutritional guidance statements to advise the public about current knowledge of the relationship of diet to health and disease.

After the review and evaluation of information from several scientific bodies, the task force issued their conclusions in the form of Dietary Guidelines Statements based on current scientific views on nutrition, the American diet and its effect on health.


Publication

In 1980, the USDA and HHS released a set of 7 Dietary Guidelines Statements in a 20-page booklet entitled, Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans,
which became the 1st edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.



 

Last Modified: November 25, 2009 01:53 PM