The development course of the Chinese Dietary Guidelines (hereinafter refers to CDG) profoundly reflects the evolution of China's economic and social changes as well as the national health demands. Since its first release in 1989, the Guidelines have undergone four major revisions. Each revision targets the principal contradiction in the national nutrition and health status at that time, and puts forward dietary guidance principles with characteristics of the times. This evolutionary process not only records the tremendous changes in the Chinese people's dietary structure, but also demonstrates the development track of nutritional science in China.

The 1989 First Edition: A Basic Dietary Framework for Solving the Problem of Food and Clothing

In October 1989, the first edition of CDC was released, which was China’s first national-level dietary guidance document for the general public. At that time, most regions in China had just solved the problem of food and clothing. The guidelines were mainly presented with illustrations and core entries, with 8 core recommendations that were highly distinctive of the times: Diversify food; keep food intake at an appropriate level; consume moderate amount of oil and fat; combine coarse and fine grains; limit salt intake; eat less sweets; control alcohol drinking; and arrange three meals reasonably. This version of the guidelines has obvious basic features and does not involve refined nutrient ratio and diversified food requirements. Its historical significance lies in the fact that it has established the first national-level dietary guidance framework, laying a foundation for the development of subsequent versions. It is worth noting that the guidelines at that time have already included restrictive suggestions on oil, salt and sweets, showing forward-looking thinking on chronic disease prevention.

The 1997 Revised Edition: Introducing the Visual Tool of the Chinese Food Guide Pagoda

At the end of the 1990s, most regions in China had reached the level of adequate food and clothing, and some provinces and large and medium-sized cities had entered a well-off stage. Food consumption, nutrient intake and food hygiene had become important aspects to be improved. In 1997, the second edition of CDC was revised and released. This was the first time that the CDC was edited into a book and published, and it was the first time that the Chinese Food Guide Pagoda was formulated as an innovative visual tool. The pagoda is divided into 5 layers: grains and tubers are located at the bottom layer; vegetables and fruits are in the second layer; fish, poultry, meat and eggs are in the third layer; milk and legumes are in the fourth layer; and the top of the pagoda in the fifth layer is cooking oil and table salt, covering the main types of food that people should eat every day. The Pagoda also correspondingly gives the recommended intake of 5 categories of food, converting the human body’s nutritional needs into guidance standards for daily food selection.

The 2007 Revised Edition: Nutritional Adjustment in Response to the Changes of Lifestyle

After entering the 21st century, the dietary structure and lifestyle of Chinese residents have undergone important changes, and the prevalence of related chronic diseases has increased, which has become a prominent problem threatening the national health. In 2006, Chinese Dietary Guidelines (2007) was released. The guidelines were divided into dietary guidelines for pregnant women and lactating mothers, dietary guidelines for children aged 0-6, dietary guidelines for adolescents, and dietary nutrition guidelines for the elderly for the first time. The innovation of this edition lies in that it considers diet and exercise together, clearly puts forward the concept of balancing eating and activity for the first time, adds the content of drinking enough water every day and choosing beverages reasonably, and particularly emphasizes suggestions such as strengthening physical activity, reducing cooking oil use and choosing snacks reasonably. The Pagoda also correspondingly adds images of water intake and physical activity, reinforcing the overall health concept of lifestyle.

The 2016 Revised Edition: A Comprehensive Strategy to Address the Dual Burden of Nutrition

In 2014, the Chinese Nutrition Society formed the CDG Revision Expert Committee, established the basic principle of evidence-based, food-based dietary guidelines for the first time. Based on the analysis of the dietary and nutritional problems and dietary patterns of Chinese residents at that time, as well as the scientific evidence report on food and health, referring to the experience of dietary guideline revisions by international organizations and other countries, and widely soliciting opinions, the Chinese Dietary Guidelines (2016) was eventually formed.
This edition of the CDG puts forward 6 key recommendations: Eat a variety of foods, cereal based; be active to maintain a healthy body weight; eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, dairy products and soybeans; eat moderate amounts of fish, poultry, eggs and lean meats; limit salt, cooking oil, added sugar and alcohol; develop healthy eating habits, and avoid food waste. Each core entry consists of 5 parts: summary, key recommendations, practical application, scientific basis, and knowledge link. This revision also innovatively released diverse visual tools such as the Chinese Food Guide Plate and the Chinese Children Food Guide Abacus.

The 2022 Revised Edition: A New Direction of Precision Nutrition and Sustainable Development

The Chinese Dietary Guidelines (2022) puts forward dietary guidelines for healthy people and people at risk of diseases, and launches the Eastern Healthy Dietary Pattern for the first time. This edition takes learn nutrition labeling, shop wisely and cook smart as a core recommendation, to make residents pay more attention to eating at home and scientific cooking, attach importance to food selection, learning nutrition labels and choosing healthy packaged food. In terms of food recommendations, the salt intake limit is reduced from <6g to <5g; the intake of milk and dairy products is increased from 300g to 300-500g; at the same time, the intake frequency recommendations for aquatic products and eggs are refined (at least 2 times of aquatic products per week and 1 egg per day). The guidelines have effectively promoted the development of the salt, sugar and oil reduction health campaign, and also responded to the public's attention to food hygiene and sustainable diet after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Looking at the five editions of CDG, they show an obvious evolution law: from solving basic food and clothing problems to pursuing nutritional balance, from single recommendations to layered guidance, from focusing on food itself to emphasizing eating behavior and active healthy lifestyle. This evolution process keeps pace with China's economic and social development, and also reflects the development track of nutritional science from macro to micro, from single to systematic discipline.