PRACTICE APPLICATIONS
USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion Corner
Science—The Cornerstone of Nutrition Policy,
Promotion, and Practice
H
UMAN NUTRITION HAS BEEN
a core focus for the US
Department of Agriculture
(USDA) since its inception in
1862 by President Abraham Lincoln.
Today, the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans and the 15 food and nutri-
tion assistance programs are corner-
stones of USDA. Since 1980, USDA has
partnered with the US Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) to
revise the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans every 5 years. Now in its
eighth edition, the Dietary Guidelines
provides recommendations based on
scientific evidence about the compo-
nents of a healthy and nutritionally
adequate diet to help promote health
and prevent chronic disease for current
and future generations. The focus of
the Dietary Guidelines is on the pre-
vention of disease and not the treat-
ment of disease.
SCIENCE-BASED NUTRITION
POLICY
USDA and HHS released the first Di-
etary Guidelines in 1980. The Dietary
Guidelines became congressionally
mandated in 1990 in the National
Nutrition Monitoring and Related
Research Act (NNMRRA). In addition to
explicitly stating that the Dietary
Guidelines shall contain nutritional
and dietary information and guidelines
for the general public, this act states
that the Dietary Guidelines for Ameri-
cans shall be based on the preponder-
ance of the scientific and medical
This article was written by Angie
Tagtow, MS, RD, LD, executive direc-
tor, USDA Center for Nutrition Policy
and Promotion, Alexandria, VA. She
was appointed by President Obama in
July 2014 and currently is the highest
ranking registered dietitian within
USDA.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2016.09.022
1892 JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS
knowledge, which is current at the time
the report is prepared.1
Establishing the preponderance of
scientific evidence requires robust and
diverse mechanisms including system-
atic reviews, data analyses, and dietary
pattern modeling. Within the Center
for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
(CNPP), highly trained nutrition pro-
fessionals and state-of-the-art meth-
odologies support these processes. This
ensures that the iterative approach of
building scientific evidence over time
supports the nation’s nutrition policy
backbone, and is not based on indi-
vidual studies, headlines, or anecdotal
stories.
For example, the evolution of the
Dietary Guidelines over the last 3 de-
cades is a reflection of the evolution of
science and the correlation between
food consumption and chronic disease
prevention. The science has spanned
from examining individual nutrients in
foods and their impact on disease
prevention, to specific foods, and to
food groups. A case in point is the
strong scientific evidence supporting
fruit and vegetable consumption and
reduced risk of heart disease, certain
ª 2016 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
cancers, diabetes, and obesity. Today,
the current body of science examines
overall eating patterns—that is, the
combination of foods and beverages
people consume on a regular basis—
and chronic disease prevention.
Therefore, revising the Dietary Guide-
lines every 5 years ensures that the
most current bodies of nutrition sci-
ence are being evaluated to inform
policy.
SCIENCE-BASED NUTRITION
PROMOTION
Per the NNMRRA, the Dietary Guide-
lines “shall be promoted by each Fed-
eral agency in carrying out any Federal
food, nutrition, or health program.” As
such, the primary audiences of the Di-
etary Guidelines are policymakers,
nutrition and health practitioners, and
other professionals. The implementa-
tion of the Dietary Guidelines by fed-
eral agencies ensures that the most
current nutrition and medical science
is being used to support their food and
nutrition policy, program, or promotion
initiatives. It is within each federal
agency’s purview to determine how to
operationalize the Dietary Guidelines,
whether it is to support organizational
policy, program, or promotion efforts.
The Dietary Guidelines are designed
for professionals; to make them more
applicable to consumers, CNPP trans-
forms the guidelines and key recom-
mendations into actionable messages.
Formative research is conducted to
inform nutrition messages. Following
the release of the 2010 Dietary Guide-
lines for Americans, the MyPlate symbol,
along with a variety of print and digital
materials, were developed to guide
consumers in preparing a healthy meal.
According to a 2016 Pollock Communi-
cations survey of dietitians, more than
75% of dietitians use MyPlate when
educating consumers or clients.2 Earlier
this year, the MyPlate, MyWins campaign
was simultaneously launched with the

2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for
Americans. This campaign put the
2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines into ac-
tion and conveyed actionable consumer-
focused messages that reflect the most
current science.
SCIENCE-BASED NUTRITION
PRACTICE
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans
are embedded in the foundation of
evidence-based practice for registered
dietitian nutritionists and nutrition
and dietetics technicians, registered.
Just as with the evolution of science,
dietetic practice must also evolve to
ensure the application of the most
December 2016 Volume 116 Number 12
PRACTICE APPLICATIONS
current science to support healthy
eating and the prevention of disease.
Registered dietitian nutritionists who
apply the most current evidence-
based strategies and protocol within
their respective areas of practice
demonstrate adaptability, relevance,
and competitiveness, while improving
the efficacy and the integrity of di-
etetic practice. This ultimately results
in greater impact on nutrition, health
status, and health care costs for in-
dividuals, families, and communities.
CNPP is committed to continuing to
work with our federal partners to
accomplish our mission of improving
the health and well being of Ameri-
cans by developing and promoting
JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS
dietary guidance that links scientific
research to the nutrition needs of
consumers. This will ensure that sci-
ence remains central to nutrition
policy, promotion and practice, now
and in the future.
References
1. National Nutrition Monitoring and Related
Research Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-445,
Section 301 [7 U.S.C. 5341], Title III-October
22, 1990). https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/
STATUTE-104/pdf/STATUTE-104-Pg1034.pdf.
Accessed September 18, 2016.
2. Pollock Communications. Annual Survey of
Nutrition Experts Predicts What’s In and
Out for 2016. Published April 22, 2016.
http://www.lpollockpr.com/blog/annual-
survey-nutrition-experts-predicts-whats-
2016/. Accessed September 19, 2016.
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