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The Dietary Guidelines for Americans
January 26, 2015
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The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) are federally
developed food-based recommendations for Americans
aged two and older, designed to promote health and prevent
disease-a guidance on what and how much to eat.
The DGA form the basis of federal nutrition policy,
education, outreach, and food assistance programs. They
provide the scientific basis for government
recommendations and are used in the development of
educational materials, messages, tools, and programs to
communicate healthy eating and physical activity
information to the public.
All Federal dietary guidance for the public must be
consistent with the Dietary Guidelines.
The DGA are statutorily mandated under the 1990 National
Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act (P.L. 101-
445, Title III, Section 301 [7 U.S.C. 5341]).
They are reviewed, updated, and published every five years
in a joint effort between the Departments of Health and
Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA). The 2010
Dietary Guidelines for Americans is the most recent version
of the policy document, and a new edition is to be published
in the fall of 2015.
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.A~ivorv Conrte.
In the first stage of DGA development, a Dietary
Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) is chartered
following Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)
guidelines. In the fall of 2012, an announcement was
published in the Federal Register seeking public
nominations for the establishment of the DGAC for the
2015 guidelines (see Figure 1, Phase 1).
The committee is composed of nationally recognized
experts in the fields of human nutrition and chronic disease
prevention. DGAC members are non-federal employees
who are classified as special government employees (SGEs)
for the duration of their appointment. Following committee
selection, a notice listing appointed members is published
in the Federal Register.
During the development of the Dietary Guidelines, the
DGAC holds a series of public meetings to review and
discuss scientific evidence to support recommendations.
Meeting information is announced in the Federal Register
at least 15 days prior to the meeting.
There were seven DGAC meetings during the development
of the 2015 guidelines, all of which were open to the public
via webcast technology. Federal agencies and the public
may submit comments electronically throughout the
deliberation process (comment period closed December 30,
2014).
Figure I. The 2015 DGA Process: From Start to
Finish
A Dietary Guidelines Advisory , ,
Committee (DGAC) is created,
...............The DGAC reviews the 2010 DGA
........ . nd d -rines topics for which new
scientific evidence is available. The -KS
DUAC submits an Advisory Report \
to the Secretaries of HHS and USDA,
HHS and USDA develop the policy \
..... document, Dietary Guidelines
Diiiiii:ii!:i:c:::i Ditory Guide/ines are implementedk
......... ... .........
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::through Federal programs.,-.
Source: Figure created by CRS based on information from USDA
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
.....e. .......... .. ..
... ,. x. , ..........
The DGAC uses systematic reviews, data analyses, and/or
food pattern modeling analyses, as well as scientific
evidence-based reports, input from guest speakers, and
public comments to inform revision of existing
recommendations or suggest new guidance. The DGAC
also relies on the Nutrition Evidence Library (NEL), which
was established by the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy
and Promotion (CNPP) to objectively review, evaluate, and
synthesize research to answer nutrition and health
questions.
When developing recommendations, the committee
considers the existing Dietary Guidelines and examines
how those recommendations compare to food consumption
data. Based on those considerations, the DGAC may make
certain recommendations (e.g., Increase fruit and
vegetable intake or Reduce intake of calories from solid
fats and added sugars).
The DGAC then presents its recommendations in a
scientific report to the Secretaries of HHS and USDA for
use in updating the official Dietary Guidelines for
Americans (see Figure 1, Phase 2). The DGAC Report is
published in the Federal Register and made available to the
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