Blog
Dietary Guidelines for Americans FREE
follow us on twitter: @GoAfricaNetwork , @DocSamuelJones
JAMA
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are designed to help Americans choose and maintain a healthy diet.
Jill Jin, MD, MPH
CREATING THE GUIDELINES
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) are created by the US Departments of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Agriculture (USDA) and updated every 5 years. The goals of the DGA are to help Americans make healthier food and beverage choices throughout their lives, from childhood to adulthood (including pregnancy) to old age. Maintaining healthy eating patterns is a key part of preventing many chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. A Viewpoint summarizing new DGA (2015-2020) was published in the February 2, 2016, issue of JAMA.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 2015 GUIDELINES
The DGA provides recommendations on the amounts and types of foods that should be consumed to establish and maintain healthy eating patterns. Specific recommendations are summarized in the Figure.
The DGA also recommends meeting the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. More information can be found online (see below) about both the dietary and physical activity guidelines.