2010 DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS

BACKGROUNDER:

HISTORY AND PROCESS

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DIETARY GUIDELINES SHOULD BE REFERRED TO DR. ROBERT POST, 

CENTER FOR NUTRITION POLICY AND PROMOTION, 703-305-7600

2010 DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS
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BACKGROUNDER: HISTORY AND PROCESS

I. Introduction 

Purpose

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) establish the scientific and policy basis for 

all Federal nutrition programs, including research, education, nutrition assistance, labeling, and 

nutrition promotion. The DGA offer advice for healthy Americans ages 2 years and over about 

making food choices that promote health and reduce disease risk. The DGA provides a 

consistent, science-based foundation for nutrition efforts by the various government agencies. 

All federally-issued dietary guidance for the general public is required by law to be consistent 

with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

History

The first edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans was released in 1980. Beginning with 

the 1985 edition, the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services 

(HHS) appointed a Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) of prominent experts in 

nutrition and health to review current scientific and medical knowledge and recommend 

revisions to the Secretaries. Section 301 of the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related 

Research Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-445, Title III, 7 U.S.C. 5301), requires the Departments 

of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) to jointly publish the Dietary 

Guidelines for Americans at least every 5 years. 

Since 1980, the Dietary Guidelines have been notably consistent in their recommendations on 

the components of a healthful diet, but they also have changed in significant ways to reflect the 

emerging science. The Federal Advisory Committee Act and Quality of Information Act set 

major requirements for open, systematic, and transparent federal advisory committee operations. 

These requirements have informed the current processes used in reviewing the literature, for 

encouraging public participation and for making information transparent and easily available to 

everyone. Changes made to proactively meet these requirements for the 2010 Dietary 

Guidelines for Americans included:

• Implementation of USDA’s Nutrition Evidence Library which used rigorous, systematic,

and transparent methodology, designed to minimize bias, and ensure the quality, 

objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information used to develop Federal guidance

• Initiation of the www.NutritionEvidenceLibrary.gov (or www.NEL.gov )Web site to 

serve as a publicly available store house for all research protocols, literature selection 

decisions, evidence summary materials, and graded conclusion statements 

• Initiation of the easily retrievable and searchable Dietary Guidelines Web site,

www.dietaryguidelines.gov, to centrally house all Dietary Guidelines related content and 

information

• Development of a public comments database for simple comment submissions during the 

comment period, and viewing by anyone at any time
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• Use of webinars to broadcast meetings that were viewed across the globe with attendance 

doubling from previous in-person only meetings

• Ability to archive public meeting documents and audio recordings online for continued 

public access, beyond the initial meeting date.

Process for Developing the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

For the 2010 edition of the Guidelines, the departments appointed a DGAC of 13 nationally 

recognized experts in nutrition and health to review the sixth edition of the Dietary Guidelines

(released in January of 2005) to determine whether revisions were warranted and provide 

suggestions for these revisions. Committee members were:

Chair Vice Chair

Linda Van Horn, PhD, RD, LD

Northwestern University

Chicago, Ill.

Naomi K. Fukagawa, MD, PhD

University of Vermont

Burlington, Vt.

Members

Cheryl Achterberg, PhD

The Ohio State University

Columbus, Ohio

Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, PhD 

Yale University

New Haven, Conn.

Lawrence J. Appel, MD, MPH 

Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

Baltimore, Md.

F. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, MD, MPH

Columbia University

New York, N.Y.

Roger A. Clemens, DrPH 

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, Calif.

Eric B. Rimm, ScD

Harvard University

Boston, Mass.

Miriam E. Nelson, PhD 

Tufts University 

Boston, Mass.

Joanne L. Slavin, PhD, RD

University of Minnesota 

St. Paul, Minn.

Sharon (Shelly) M. Nickols-Richardson, 

PhD, RD

The Pennsylvania State University 

University Park, Pa.

Thomas A. Pearson, MD, PhD, MPH

University of Rochester 

Rochester, N.Y.

Christine L. Williams, MD, MPH

Columbia University (Retired)

Healthy Directions, Inc.

New York, N.Y.
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Over the period of a year and a half, the DGAC conducted an extensive evidence-based review 

of scientific and medical literature regarding the role of diet and nutrition in health promotion 

and disease prevention, and submitted a report summarizing their findings. The DGAC held six 

public meetings between October 2008 and May 2010 and submitted their Advisory Report to 

the Secretaries of USDA and HHS in June 2010.

The report included two chapters new to the 2010 edition, which set the stage for the rest of the 

report: “The Total Diet: Combining Nutrients, Consuming Food” and “Translating and 

Integrating the Evidence: A Call to Action.” It also included eight chapters that reviewed and 

summarized the science and provided conclusions for specific topic areas: Energy Balance & 

Weight Management; Nutrient Adequacy; Fatty Acids and Cholesterol; Protein; Carbohydrates; 

Sodium, Potassium & Water; Alcohol; and Food Safety & Technology. The Report highlighted 

an urgent need to address overweight and obesity, especially in children. Strategies to prevent 

childhood obesity were included. The Report also gave focus to changes needed in the overall 

food environment. 

A Federal Register notice announcing the availability of the Advisory Report and a 30-day 

public comment period was published on June 15, 2010. A public meeting with opportunity to 

provide oral testimony on the Advisory Report was held on July 8, 2010. Agencies in each 

department were also invited to provide comments on the Advisory Report regarding any 

potential program-specific policy implications. USDA-CNPP and HHS-ODPHP staff compiled

public and Agency comments submitted.

The joint working group of USDA-CNPP and HHS-ODPHP nutritionists translated the Advisory 

Report into a draft of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines policy document; public and agency 

comments on the DGAC Report were considered at that time. The draft policy document was 

peer-reviewed according to the requirements of the Quality of Information Act specified by 

OMB’s “Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review,” published in January 14, 2005 FR 

Notice (Vol. 70, No. 10). Review was for clarity, technical accuracy, and consistency with the

Advisory Report.

The Dietary Guidelines policy document was finalized and cleared through the departments in 

December 2010. Secretaries Vilsack and Sebelius jointly released the seventh edition of the 

2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans in January 2011. The policy document is available on 

line at www.Dietary Guidelines.gov. Consumer materials and tools to implement the Guidelines 

will be released throughout the five-year lifespan of the Guidelines.

II. 2010 Dietary Guidelines Policy Document 

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans Policy document is intended for an audience of 

professionals in nutrition, health, and education to help them in developing educational materials 

and for policymakers to help them in designing and carrying out nutrition-related programs. 
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The 2010 DGA includes 23 Key Recommendations for all Americans, and six additional 

recommendations for specific population groups. It is comprised of six chapters that summarize 

and synthesize knowledge about individual nutrients and food components into an interrelated 

set of recommendations for healthy eating that can be adopted by the public. The chapters are:

Chapter 1: Introduction. This chapter introduces the document and provides information and 

background and purposes. 

Chapter 2: Balancing Calories to Manage Weight. This chapter explains the concept of 

calorie balance, describes some of the environmental forces that have contributed to the current 

epidemic of overweight and obesity, and discusses diet and physical activity principles that can 

be used to help Americans achieve calorie balance.

Chapter 3: Foods and Food Components to Reduce. This chapter focuses on several dietary 

components that Americans generally consume in excess compared to recommendations. These 

include sodium, solid fats (major sources of saturated fats and trans fats), cholesterol, added

sugars, refined grains, and for some Americans, alcohol. The chapter explains that reducing 

foods and beverages that contain relatively high amounts of these dietary components and 

replacing them with foods and beverages that provide substantial amounts of nutrients and 

relatively few calories would improve the health of Americans.

Chapter 4: Foods and Nutrients to Increase. This chapter focuses on the nutritious foods that 

are recommended for nutrient adequacy, disease prevention, and overall good health. These 

include vegetables; fruits; whole grains; fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products (dairy 

products); protein foods, including seafood, lean meat and poultry, eggs, beans and peas, soy 

products, nuts, and seeds; and oils. Additionally, nutrients of public health concern, including 

potassium, dietary fiber, calcium, and vitamin D are discussed.

Chapter 5: Building Healthy Eating Patterns. This chapter shows how the recommendations 

and principles described in earlier chapters can be combined into a healthy overall eating pattern. 

The USDA Food Patterns and DASH Eating Plan are healthy eating patterns that provide flexible 

templates, allowing all Americans to stay within calorie limits, meet their nutrient needs, and 

reduce chronic disease risk.

Chapter 6: Helping Americans Make Healthy Choices. This chapter discusses two critically 

important facts. The first is that the current food and physical activity environment is influential 

in the nutrition and activity choices that people make—for better and for worse. The second is 

that all elements of society, including individuals and families, communities, business and 

industry, and various levels of government, have a positive and productive role to play in the 

movement to make America healthy. The chapter suggests a number of ways that these players 

can work together to improve the Nation’s nutrition and physical activity.
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III. Nutrition Education and Consumer Materials

• Consumer research is being conducted to evaluate consumer understanding, attitudes and 

beliefs about food and nutrition, in order to better encourage the public to make healthier 

food choices.

• CNPP and ODPHP will develop simple, direct, actionable messages, tools, and information 

as part of the Dietary Guidelines nutrition education and communication efforts. 

 

• Communication information on the Dietary Guidelines will be available for professionals 

at: www.dietaryguidelines.gov and www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines. Consumer 

information will be available at: www.mypyramid.gov and at: 

www.healthfinder.gov/prevention.