A brief history of USDA nutrition advice

Or, You Can Give the People a Food Guide But You Can’t Make Them Eat Their Veggies

Quantities listed are daily servings unless otherwise noted. See the notes (icon) for more information.

Year	Guide or Model	No. of food groups	Protein-rich foods				Bread & cereals	Fruits & vegetables					Other
Year	Guide or Model	No. of food groups	Milk	Meat	Nuts & Beans	Eggs	Bread & cereals	Vegetables			Fruit		Fat		Sweets	Alcohol
1894	Principles of Nutrition Between 1894 and 1916, the USDA recommended numbers of grams of carbohydrates, fat, and protein for people of various ages, sexes, and occupations and provided tables showing the composition of common foods, but didn't explain nutrition in terms of food groups. People had to do the math for themselves. Fruits and vegetables were only halfheartedly recommended, as specific vitamins hadn't yet been discovered. Carbodrates and fats provided “fuel”, protein built muscle, and a few minerals like calcium and iron fell under the heading of “ash”; everything else was “refuse,” which had no obvious role except possibly in preventing constipation. For all that, the recommended quantities of carbs, fat, and protein were more or less in line with today’s guidelines. Source: W. O. Atwater, Principles of Nutrition and Nutritive Value in Food, Farmers’ Bulletin No. 192 (1906).	—	(See note)
1916	How to Select Foods and other buying guides By 1916, the first vitamins had been discovered, but scientists weren’t sure what each of them did. Buying guides issued during the First World War emphasized the importance of fruits and vegetables but didn't mention vitamins by name. Instead, they spoke mysteriously of “certain newly discovered substances in very small amounts, which are believed to play an important part in keeping people well and promoting the growth of children.” The “fatty foods” group included not only pure fats but fatty meats like bacon and sausage. And note the “sweets” group! Sugar was considered a cheap, practical source of calories, though there was some debate among nutritionists about how much was appropriate. Source: Caroline L. Hunt and Helen W. Atwater, How to Select Foods, I. What the Body Needs, Farmers’ Bulletin No. 808 (1917).	5	Meats and other protein-rich foods 10% of calories from milk, 10% of calories other				Cereals and other starchy foods 20% of calories	Vegetables and fruit 30% of calories					Fatty foods (fatty meats, butter, oil) 20% of calories		Sweets 10% of calories
1930s	Planning for Good Nutrition and other buying guides By the 1930s, specific vitamins had been discovered, including A, C, and the B group. Buying guides now recommended more fruits and vegetables of specific types that contain various vitamins. (In fact, these guides recommended more fruits and vegetables than any future guide would until the 1990s!) Guides also mentioned whole grains for the first time, and no longer recommended sweets but accepted them as a common source of calories. These buying guides were written during the Depression, and included menu plans and suggested market baskets for various income levels. Source: Hazel K. Stiebeling and Faith Clark, “Planning for Good Nutrition,” in the Yearbook of Agriculture, 1939, pp. 321–340.	12	Milk 2 c	Lean meat, poultry, and fish 9–10/wk	Dry beans, peas, and nuts 1/wk	Eggs 1	Flours, cereals As desired	Leafy, green, yellow 11–12/wk	Potatoes and sweet potatoes 1	Other vegetables and fruit 3		Tomatoes and citrus 1	Butter not specified	Other fats not specified	Sweets not specified
1943	Basic 7 foundation diet The Basic 7 model, explained in the National Wartime Nutrition Guide, was as much about planning meals during rationing as about good nutrition generally. With meat scarce, it was lumped in with other protein-rich foods, and sugar rationing meant that the sweets group was finally dropped. Butter, too, was rationed, and so vitamin A-fortified margarine became more widely accepted as a substitute. The government published colorful charts showing the seven food groups, which were displayed in grocery stores to remind shoppers of their importance. Although the heavy publicity spread the message, it isn’t clear how much impact it had on eating habits after the war. (Interestingly, two publications in 1941, one by the USDA Bureau of Home Economics and the other by the National Research Council, recommended 10 and 9 food groups, respectively — water being one of the former! But these were quickly superseded by the Basic 7.) Source: National Wartime Nutrition Guide, 1943.	7	Milk and milk products 2c or more	Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dried beans, peas, nuts 1–2			Bread, cereal every day	Leafy, green, yellow 1 or more	Potatoes & other fruit & vegetables 2 or more			Citrus, tomato, cabbage, salad greens 1 or more	Butter or fortified margarine some daily
1956	Basic Four foundation diet The classic four food groups simplified matters, but collapsing fruits and vegetables back into a single group probably de-emphasized their importance, even with recommendations to each leafy, green, and yellow vegetables “frequently” and citrus daily.	4	Milk group 2 c or more	Meat group 2 or more			Bread-cereal group 4	Vegetable-fruit group 4
1979	Hassle-Free Guide to a Better Diet In 1977, the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs published its Dietary Goals for the United States, which recommended limiting consumption of foods believed at the time to be linked to chronic diseases. This would have been a radical shift: earlier nutrition advice from the U.S. Government had focused on making sure people got enough of various nutrients. The USDA, facing pressure from interest groups and recognizing that the committee’s recommendations “were so different from usual food patterns,” didn’t follow these guidelines, but added a fifth dietary group of fats, sweets, and alcohol to point out that they should be consumed only in moderation. Source: Hassle-Free Guide to a Better Diet, 1984.	5	Milk-cheese group 2	Meat, poultry, fish and beans group 2			Bread-cereal group 4	Vegetable-fruit group 4					Fats, sweets, alcohol group use dependent on calorie needs
1992	Food Pyramid The USDA revised its guidelines in 1984 to emphasize fruits and vegetables and to make clear that fat consumption should be limited. This guide (A Pattern for Daily Food Choices) wasn’t well known, though, until the publication of the first Food Pyramid in 1992.	6	Milk, yogurt, cheese 2–3	Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dry beans, nuts 2–3			Breads, cereals, rice, pasta 6–11	Vegetables 3–5			Fruit 2–4		Fats, oils, sweets Fat not to exceed 30% of calories; sweets dependent on calorie needs
2010	Healthy Plate The 2010 guide recommends fat-free or 1% dairy products, whole grains, and filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables. It was only the second guide to recommend specifically processed foods: “processed soy products” are one of the options for protein foods. (The National Wartime Nutrition Guide recommended margarine, but that was during rationing.) This model offers no set numbers of servings, but recommends quantities to be consumed by people of various ages and sexes.	6	Dairy (amount varies)	Protein foods (meat, poultry, eggs, beans and peas, processed soy products, nuts and seeds, seafood) (amount varies)			Grains (amount varies)	Vegetables (half of plate should be fruits and vegetables)			Fruit (half of plate should be fruits and vegetables)			Oils (“Oils are NOT a food group, but they provide essential nutrients”)

Chart adapted from Carole Davis and Etta Saltos, “Dietary Recommendations and How They Have Changed Over Time,” in Elizabeth Frazao, America’s Eating Habits: Changes and Consequences (Agriculture Information Bulletin No. (AIB-750), May 1999) and based on additional information in various food guides listed in the notes.