Every five years, since 1980, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have jointly published the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Prior to the preparation of each new edition, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee reviews the current science in medicine and nutrition, providing the most up to date information and advice on nutrition and healthy living for children and adults.
      Although this document is prepared in the U.S. and is directed to North Americans, the information it contains can be quite valuable for other individuals outside of this geographic area as well.

      The USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) released the 2000 edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans in May 2000. This Fifth Edition of the Guidelines now emphasizes fitness, more than ever, as an essential component of preventive health.
      A fact sheet released by the White House summarized what most of us know all too well: Obesity has become a major problem in the U.S., and is a significant contributor to serious health problems. At least one-third of non-elderly adults are overweight, one in five children are at risk of becoming overweight, and nearly 90% of all Americans have diets that are in need of improvement. As an added note, though not mentioned in the report, very similar statistics occur in the United Kingdom. The matter of obesity is not strictly a North American problem, but evident in many areas of the developed world.
      In addition to Dietary Guidelines 2000, the CNPP has also prepared a comparative fact sheet that summarizes the changes in the Dietary Guidelines since its inception in 1980. The document is in PDF format, and requires Adobe's Acrobat Reader.

      The fact sheet is here: Dietary Guidelines Overview [PDF];

      The complete document, in HTML format, has also been provided for your convenience.

      Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 5th ed (2000)