Dietary Guidelines

Dietary Guidelines for Americans Healthy Ways

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans provides evidence-based nutrition information and advice for people age two and older to help Americans make smart choices about food and physical activity so they can live healthier lives. They also serve as the basis for federal food and nutrition education programs, like the new MyPlate food icon.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, produced by HHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture every five years, analyze the latest research to help Americans make smart choices about food and physical activity so they can live healthier lives.

The most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 focuses on balancing food choices with physical activity, and encourage Americans to consume more healthy foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, and seafood, and to consume less sodium, saturated and trans fats, added sugars, and refined grains.

The Guidelines note the important role that physical activity and healthy eating habits can play in preventing weight gain, reducing weight, and reducing risk for chronic diseases, and advise that people eat the recommended amount of calories for each life stage: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, pregnancy and breastfeeding, and older age. The Guidelines recommend increasing physical activity and reducing time spent being sedentary to maintain a healthy weight or to reduce weight.