Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Washington, DC: US Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, 2015

Genesis of the Report The US government has been issuing guidance in one form or another about optimal dietary intakes for more than a century. Clearly, the pressing dietary concerns of Americans, health care workers, and public health officials have undergone considerable changes during this time, shifting from a focus on prevention of micronutrient, protein, and energy deficiencies in the early 1900s to prevention of obesity and chronic disease in the 21st century. In 1980, the form and content of these guidance documents were clarified, streamlined, and codified such that the first Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) was created. Dictated by the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–445), federal law now requires that the DGA be reviewed, updated, and republished every 5 y. To meet this requirement, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and US Department of Health and Human Services jointly appoint a Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) constituted of nationally recognized experts in nutrition and health. The process of appointing this committee for the 2015 DGAwas initiated in 2012 when nominations were sought from the public through a notice published in the Federal Register; 15 individuals were chosen with Drs. Barbara Millin (Millennnium Prevention) and Alice Lichtenstein (Tufts University) serving as chair and vice chair, respectively. Officially, the 2015 DGAC was established for the “single, time-limited task of reviewing the 2010 edition of DGA and developing nutrition and related health recommendations to the federal government for its subsequent development of the 2015 DGA.” The culmination of the committee’s work (Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee) is summarized herein.