Abstract
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide evidence-based nutrition information and advice-encouraging Americans to eat a healthful diet to maintain a healthy weight, promote health, and prevent disease. This article discusses the role of food science and technology in developing healthy foods to help Americans achieve the dietary recommendations and addresses the opportunities and challenges associated with reducing sodium, sugar, and fat content in foods and beverages and the unintended consequences of a single nutrient approach. This article is based on the presentation by John Ruff, past president of the Institute of Food Technologists, to the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee in March 2014.