Dietary Guidelines

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) – which provide the basis for federal food and nutrition policy and nutrition education initiatives – are updated and published every five years in a joint effort between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is a key recommendation of the DGAs as a result of three-fourths of the population having a diet low in fruits and vegetables.                                                                                                                                                                        Specifically, the 2015 DGAs recommend Americans include a variety of vegetables from all of the subgroups—dark green, red and orange, legumes (beans and peas), starchy and increase consumption of fruits, especially whole fruits.

Policy

The 2017 Consolidated Appropriations bill directed the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate and provide recommendations on strengthening the DGA process.  The results of those recommendations can be found here.

The Dietary Guidelines are currently underway.

Resources

2015 Dietary Guidelines

National Academy of Science Reports on Dietary Guidelines Process