Dietary guidelines are designed to help us choose the best combination of foods for good health. You may be most familiar with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which includes recommendations for everyone from age two through the adult years. In school, many children learn about how to eat using MyPyramid. The child and adult pyramids are based on the Dietary Guidelines.

But how do you follow them? The best approach is a combination of general recommendations plus more specific instructions on what and how much to eat. Balancing the amount of food eaten with the body's need for calories helps all of us maintain a healthy weight.

The kids' version of MyPyramid simplifies the dietary guidelines into easy-to-follow recommendations that apply to everyone:

• Be physically active every day. Do something active that you enjoy, like running, walking the dog, playing, swimming, biking, dancing, or participating in sports. Get a total of at least 60 minutes (30 minutes for adults) of activity on most if not all days.
• Choose healthier foods from each food group. For example, lean beef is preferable to a fatty burger.
• Eat more from some food groups than others. For example, a growing child should have about 4 cups of fruits and vegetables each day, compared to about 6 ounces of bread and grain products.
• Include every color every day. The more colorful the diet, the more nutrients it will supply.
• Make choices that are right for you. Everyone has different food likes and dislikes.

The Dietary Guidelines and MyPyramid also recommend amounts of foods to provide the average child with important foods and nutrients.