The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are designed to help Americans choose diets that will promote good health and reduce risk for chronic diseases, such as heart disease, certain types of cancer, diabetes, stroke, and osteoporosis.
Different foods contain different nutrients and other healthful substances.
No single food can supply all the nutrients in the amounts a person needs. As a starting point, consumers should choose the number of daily servings from each of the five major food groups according to the recommendations from the Food Guide Pyramid. The data have been used to describe food consumption patterns and to assess the nutritional contents of diets. Research based on the surveys has influenced policies related to food production and marketing, food safety, food assistance, and nutrition education. In addition to food-intake data, the survey collects demographic information, such as household size, income, race, age, and sex, and information on where a food was purchased, how it was prepared, and where it was eaten.