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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture collaborated on the 2005 guidelines, based on recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee chaired by Janet King, PhD, RD, of Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute.

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New U.S. dietary guidelines can help keep kids healthy

New federal dietary guidelines released in January 2005, give parents another opportunity to improve children's eating habits, helping them avoid obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers. Unfortunately, diseases once considered adult-onset are now frequently diagnosed in children and teens.

The guidelines are based on the latest scientific evidence, providing information and advice for choosing a nutritious diet, maintaining healthy weight, getting enough exercise, and "keeping food safe" to avoid foodborne illness.

Key dietary guidelines for children and adolescents:

Get 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
Increase daily consumption of whole grains to half or more of daily grain intake.
Drink milk daily-2 cups (ages 2-8) to 3 cups (9 and older) of nonfat or 1-percent milk, or milk equivalents.
Limit fruit juice intake.
Encourage children to eat a wide variety of foods with mono- and polyunsaturated fats, including fish, nuts and vegetables.
- Age 2-3-listed fats to be 30 to 35 percent of total calories
- Age 4-18-listed fats to be 25 to 35 percent of total calories
Be sure children and adolescents get enough vitamin E, magnesium, calcium, potassium and fiber.
Food safety-avoid raw milk and milk products, raw or partially cooked eggs, raw or undercooked meat, poultry or fish, unpasteurized juice and raw sprouts
Help children establish good dietary habits in childhood, so they'll carry over into adulthood.

A new federal Food Guidance System, to be released this spring, will make the science-based dietary guidelines more user-friendly and will include a revised Food Guide Pyramid.

Tips for teaching the new guidelines
Offer frequent and consistent education and support for children, teens and other family members. It's the best way to encourage adoption of the new guidelines.

You're more likely to be successful if you first assess current dietary and activity habits, and then guide your child towards healthier choices.

Dictating absolutes may be counterproductive. Make gradual, positive changes your goal for kids, otherwise many of the guidelines may seem impossible to achieve and pointless to reach for.

Limit fruit juice.

Juice has the same number of calories per ounce as soda.
Natural and no sugar added juices are still high in calories.
To reduce consumption, serve juice in a cup, not a bottle.
Limit children to six ounces of a vitamin C-containing juice per day.
It takes 4 to 5 apples or oranges to make eight ounces of juice.
Eat your fruit don't drink it.
Water for thirst, milk at meals.
Juice is soda without the fizz.

Increase consumption of whole grains.

Read food labels, looking for whole wheat or grain as the first, or main, ingredient.
Dietary fiber helps give eaters that full feeling and supports regular laxation.
Use low glycemic foods to maintain stable insulin levels.
Favorite and frequent choices include whole wheat bread, whole grain cereals such as oatmeal, Cheerios, Shredded Wheat or Raisin Bran, corn tortillas, grits and polenta, brown and wild rice, whole wheat pasta, pearl barley and bulgur.
Brown and crunchy, not white and fluffy.

Get 60 minutes of physical activity every day.

Build in regular activity throughout the day, for example, walk or bike to school or the bus stop, play hard at recess and lunch, help with chores around the house, walk the dog, play outdoors after school, enjoy physically active family outings on the weekend.
Reduce screen time spent with TV, computer and videos, to one hour a day.
Buy activity-oriented toys such as Frisbees, jump ropes, Hula Hoops, balls, and hacky sacks, rather than video games and movies.
Physically active children perform better in school.
The full 60 minutes can be achieved in six 10-minute chunks.
Get up and play hard.

Drink 2 to 3 cups of nonfat or 1 percent milk, or milk equivalents every day.

Calcium consumed during the teen years is stored for future use, calcium consumed in adult years isn't.
Evidence shows that consuming adequate calcium makes it easier to manage your weight.
Milk is a quick, inexpensive and nourishing package of protein, vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium, all important to growth and long-term health.
Three-a-day-make no bones about it.