Making healthful food choices is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle ( 1 US Department of Health and Human ServicesHealthy People 2010. 2nd ed. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DCNovember 2000 Google Scholar , 2 American Dietetic AssociationPosition of the American Dietetic Association: Nutrition guidance for healthy children ages 2 to 11 years. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008; 108: 1038-1047 Google Scholar , 3 US Department of Health and Human Services and US Department of AgricultureDietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/default.htm Google Scholar ). However, the diets consumed by most American children are not consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans ( 3 US Department of Health and Human Services and US Department of AgricultureDietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/default.htm Google Scholar ). Children's consumption of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains is substantially less than recommendations, and consumption of discretionary calories from solid fats and added sugars exceeds recommendations by a wide margin ( 4 Cole N. Fox M.K. Diet Quality of American School-Age Children by School Lunch Participation Status: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004. US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Alexandria, VA2008 Google Scholar , 5 Cole N. Fox M.K. Diet Quality of Americans by Food Stamp Participation Status: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004. US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Alexandria, VA2008 Google Scholar , 6 Guenther P.M. Dodd K.W. Reedy J. Krebs-Smith S.M. Most Americans eat much less than recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables. J Am Diet Assoc. 2006; 106: 1371-1379 Google Scholar , 7 Gleason P.M. Suitor C.W. Children's Diets in the Mid-1990s: Dietary Intake and Its Relationship with School Meal Participation. US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Analysis and Evaluation, Alexandria, VA2001 Google Scholar ). Poor dietary habits, coupled with low levels of physical activity, have contributed to a dramatic increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity over the last 4 decades. In 2007-2008, the prevalence of obesity among children age 6 to 11 years was five times what it was in 1971-1974 (20% vs 4%), and the prevalence among adolescents age 12 to 19 years was approximately 3.5 times higher (18% vs 5%) ( 8 Institute of Medicine, Committee on Progress in Preventing Childhood ObesityProgress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up?. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC2007 Google Scholar , 9 Ogden C.L. Carroll M.D. Curtin L.R. Lamb M. Flegal K.M. Prevalence of high body mass index in U.S. children and adolescents, 2007-2008. JAMA. 2010; 303: 242-249 Google Scholar ). M. K. Fox is a senior researcher, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc, Cambridge MA.