ABSTRACT
During the past century, what messages did we get from the U.S. government, the food industry, and health organizations about how we should eat? What is the relationship between population health objectives and dietary guidance? This chapter reviews the early twentieth century focus on foods to prevent deficiencies, war-time food messaging and the developing science of nutrients, the postwar focus on health promotion and nutrients, and the more recent emphasis on dietary patterns. During this time period, our consumer nutrition education messaging changed graphically. We currently discuss dietary guidance in terms of a plate. This messaging around the contents of our plate is also evocative of seeing our food as a totality rather than as just a collection of nutrients. Will our next wave of U.S. dietary recommendations reflect additional concepts of food as a totality, such as sustainability?
