The 13-member 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee was appointed by the Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture to assist the departments in providing sound and current dietary guidance to consumers. The National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101-445, Title III, 7 U.S.C. 5301 et seq., requires the Secretaries of HHS and USDA to publish the Dietary Guidelines for Americans at least every five years. During its first meeting on September 23-24, 2003, the Committee decided that the science has changed since the 2000 edition of Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans and further evaluation of the science was necessary. The Committee finalized its recommendations and submitted its Report to the Secretaries of Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture. This Report served as the basis for the sixth edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans which HHS and USDA published in January 2005.