Appendix G-5: History of the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans
In early 1977, after years of discussion, scientific review, and debate, the
Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, led by Senator George McGovern,
recommended Dietary Goals for the American people. The Committee recommended
that the American diet
- Increase carbohydrate intake to 55 to 60 percent of calories
- Decrease dietary fat intake to no more than 30 percent of calories,
with a reduction in intake of saturated fat, and recommended approximately equivalent
distributions among saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated fats to meet
the 30 percent target
- Decrease cholesterol intake to 300 mg per day
- Decrease sugar intake to 15 percent of calories
- Decrease salt intake to 3 g per day
The issuance of the Dietary Goals was met with a great deal of debate and controversy
from both industry groups and the scientific community. These groups believed
the science might not have supported the specificity of the numbers in the Dietary
Goals.
To support the credibility of the science used by the Committee, the Department
of Agriculture and, at that time, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
pulled together scientists from the two Departments and expertise from the scientific
community throughout the country. In February 1980, the Dietary Guidelines
for Americans brochure was issued collaboratively by the two Departments
and represented their points of view, at that time, on ways to build a healthful
diet and lifestyle.
Even though the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
might have been viewed as relatively innocuous and straightforward extrapolations
from the science base, they too were met with a fair amount of controversy. Some
of the controversy was generated from industry, some from the scientific community.
The debate, though, about the issuance of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
in 1980 led to report language that directed the two Departments to convene a
Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee to ensure that the capture of outside advice
was both formal and informal. Hence, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
established shortly after that directive was very helpful in the development
of the 1985 Dietary Guidelines in which relatively few changes were
made but which was issued with much less debate from either industry or the scientific
community.
In 1990, with the passage of Public Law 101-445, Congress formally directed
the two Departments to issue the guidelines every 5 years. A Dietary Guidelines
Advisory Committee was established to assist in the preparations of the 1990,
1995, 2000, and now 2005 versions of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
While there has been a tremendous amount of consistency throughout those guidelines,
there have also been some notable changes throughout the years that reflect the
emerging science.
Thus, in over two decades, the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans has evolved
to become a broadly accepted document that reflects scientific consensus and
provides the statutory basis of Federal nutrition education efforts.
Back to Top
Development of the Dietary Guidelines—A Chronology
| 1977 |
Dietary Goals for the United States (the McGovern
report) was issued by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human
Needs (1). These goals were the focus of controversy among some nutritionists
and others concerned with food, nutrition, and health. |
| 1979 |
The American Society for Clinical Nutrition formed a panel to study the
relationship between dietary practices and health outcomes (2). The findings,
presented in 1979, were reflected in Healthy People: The Surgeon General's
Report on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (3). |
| 1980 |
Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans,
first edition, was issued jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in response to the public's
desire for authoritative, consistent guidelines on diet and health (4). The
guidelines were based on the most up—to-date information available at the
time and were directed to healthy Americans. The guidelines generated considerable
discussion by nutrition scientists, consumer groups, the food industry, and
others. |
| 1980 |
A U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations report directed that a committee
be established to review scientific evidence and recommend revisions to the
1980 Dietary Guidelines (5). |
| 1983-84 |
A Federal advisory committee of nine non-government
nutrition scientists was convened to review and make
recommendations to HHS and USDA about the
first edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (6). |
| 1985 |
HHS and USDA jointly issued a second edition of the Dietary Guidelines
for Americans (7). This revised edition was nearly identical to the
first. Some changes were made for clarity, while others reflected advances
in scientific knowledge of the associations between diet and a range of chronic
diseases. The second edition received wide acceptance and was used as a framework
for consumer education messages. |
| 1987 |
Language in the Conference Report of the House Committee on Appropriations
indicated that USDA, in conjunction with HHS, "shall reestablish a Dietary
Guidelines Advisory Group on a periodic basis. This Advisory Group will review
the scientific data relevant to nutritional guidance and make recommendations
on appropriate changes to the Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture
and Health and Human Services (8)." |
| 1989 |
USDA and HHS established a second advisory committee, which considered
whether revision to the 1985 Dietary Guidelines was needed and then proceeded
to make recommendations for revision in a report to the Secretaries. The
1988 Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health (9) and the
1989 National Research Council's report titled Diet and Health: Implications
for Reducing Chronic Disease Risk were key resources used by the Committee
(10). |
| 1990 |
The National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act (P.L.101-445)
was passed, which requires publication of the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans every 5 years (11). This legislation also requires review
by the Secretaries of USDA and HHS of all Federal publications containing
dietary advice for the general public. |
| 1990 |
HHS and USDA jointly released the third edition of the Dietary Guidelines
for Americans (12). The basic tenets of the 1990 Dietary Guidelines
were reaffirmed, with additional refinements made to reflect increased understanding
of the science of nutrition and how best to communicate the science to consumers.
The language of the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans was more
positive, was oriented toward the total diet, and provided more specific
information regarding food selection. For the first time, numerical recommendations
were made for intakes of dietary fat and saturated fat. |
| 1993 |
The HHS Charter established the 1995 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. |
| 1994 |
The 11-member Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee was appointed by the
Secretaries of HHS and USDA to review the third edition of the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans to determine whether changes were needed and,
if so, to recommend suggestions and the rationale for any revisions. |
| 1995 |
The report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee to the Secretaries
of HHS and USDA was published (13). This report served as the basis for the
fourth edition of Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans. |
| 1995 |
USDA and HHS jointly released the fourth edition of the Dietary Guidelines
for Americans (14). This edition continued to support the concepts from
earlier editions. New information included the Food Guide Pyramid, Nutrition
Facts Labels, boxes highlighting good food sources of key nutrients, and
a chart illustrating three weight ranges. |
| 1997 |
The USDA Charter established the 2000 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. |
| 1998 |
The 11-member Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee was appointed by the
Secretaries of HHS and USDA to review the fourth edition of the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans to determine whether changes were needed and,
if so, to recommend suggestions for revision. |
| 2000 |
The Committee submitted its report to the Secretaries of HHS and USDA.
This report served as the basis for the fifth edition of Nutrition and
Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans. |
| 2000 |
The President, USDA, and HHS jointly issued the fifth edition of the Dietary
Guidelines (15). Earlier versions included seven statements. This version
included 10—created by breaking out physical activity from the weight guideline,
splitting the grains and fruits/vegetables for greater emphasis, and adding
a new guideline on safe food handling. |
| 2003 |
The HHS Charter established the 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. |
| 2003 |
The 13-member Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee was appointed by the
Secretaries of HHS and USDA to review the fifth edition of the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans to determine whether changes were needed and,
if so, to recommend suggestions for revision. |
| 2003–04 |
In keeping with the current emphasis on data quality, a systematic review
of the scientific literature was conducted to develop the Committee's recommendations. |
| 2004 |
The Committee submitted its report to the Secretaries of HHS and USDA.
This report will serve as the basis for the sixth edition of Nutrition
and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans. |
| 2005 |
HHS and USDA will jointly issue the sixth edition of the Dietary Guidelines
for Americans. This publication will continue to serve as the basis
of Federal nutrition policy. Additional consumer communication materials
will be developed to provide advice to consumers about food choices that
promote health and decrease the risk of chronic disease. |
Back to Top
REFERENCES
| 1. |
U.S. Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs.
Dietary Goals for the United States, 2nd ed. Washington, DC, U.S. Government
Printing Office, 1977. |
| 2. |
Task force sponsored by the American Society for Clinical
Nutrition. The evidence relating six dietary factors to the nation's health.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Supplement) 1979; 32:2621-2748. |
| 3. |
U.S. Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare, Public Health Service. Healthy People:
The Surgeon General's Report on Health Promotion
and Disease Prevention. DHEW (PHS) Publication No. 79-55071,
1979. |
| 4. |
U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for
Americans. Home and Garden Bulletin No. 232, 1980. |
| 5. |
U.S. Senate Agricultural Appropriations Committee, 96th Cong.,
1st sess., 1980, S. Rep. 1030. |
| 6. |
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Human Nutrition Information
Service, Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Report of the Dietary
Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans,
1985. |
| 7. |
U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for
Americans, 2nd ed. Garden Bulletin No. 232, 1985. |
| 8. |
U.S. House of Representatives Conference Committee, 100th
Cong., 1st sess., 1987, H. Rep. 498. |
| 9. |
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health
Service. The Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health. DHHS
(PHS) Publication No. 88-50215, 1988. |
| 10. |
National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council,
Food and Nutrition Board. Diet and Health: Implications for Reducing
Chronic Disease Risk. Washington, DC, National Academy Press, 1989 |
| 11. |
National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of
1990, Public Law 445, 101st Cong., 2nd sess. (October 22, 1990), section
301. |
| 12. |
U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for
Americans, 3rd ed. Garden Bulletin No. 232, 1990. |
| 13. |
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service,
Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Report of the Dietary Guidelines
Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 1995. |
| 14. |
U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for
Americans, 4th ed. Garden Bulletin No. 232, 1995. |
| 15. |
U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for
Americans, 5th ed. Garden Bulletin No. 232, 2000. |
Back to Top
|
