A History of Dietary Guidelines

Food group guides have been a part of the American diet for several decades. You may remember the Basic Four Food Groups, which was introduced in 1956 and served as the guide to balanced eating for nearly four decades. The Basic Four Food Groups described the minimum number of servings a person should get from each of the food groups each vegetable group, and bread group. In 1992 the Food Guide Pyramid replaced the Basic Four Food Groups. This new guide consists of five food groups and gives a range of servings a person should eat from each group depending on the person's activity level, age, and caloric need.