MyPlate's five food groups for adults 60+: daily amounts for the 1,600–2,600-calorie levels older adults fall into, plus RDA/AI targets for protein, vitamin D, B12, B6, calcium, potassium, and fiber at ages 51–70 and 71+.
MyPlate for older adults applies USDA's five food groups — fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy — to the years after 60, when the same balanced plate works but the numbers behind it shift. As metabolism and activity slow, daily calorie needs fall: under the USDA Dietary Guidelines' estimated needs, a woman over 60 typically needs about 1,600–2,000 calories a day and a man 2,000–2,600. Yet protein and several key nutrients hold steady or rise even as calories drop, so every bite has to do more work. USDA retired its MyPlate.gov older-adults page in January 2026; this page and our free MyPlate Plan calculator carry that guidance forward, with the food-group amounts and nutrient targets below drawn from USDA food-pattern tables and the Dietary Reference Intakes.
The short version
How much of each food group you need scales with your calorie level — the MyPlate Plan calculator finds yours, then the USDA Healthy US-Style Pattern below sets the daily cups and ounce-equivalents across the 1,600–2,600-calorie band older adults fall into.
| Calorie level | Fruits (cups) | Vegetables (cups) | Grains (oz-eq) | Protein (oz-eq) | Dairy (cups) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,600 cal | 1.5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| 1,800 cal | 1.5 | 2.5 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| 2,000 cal | 2 | 2.5 | 6 | 5.5 | 3 |
| 2,200 cal | 2 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 3 |
| 2,400 cal | 2 | 3 | 8 | 6.5 | 3 |
| 2,600 cal | 2 | 3.5 | 9 | 6.5 | 3 |
Daily amounts from the USDA Healthy US-Style Pattern (Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025). Vegetables and dairy in cups; grains and protein in ounce-equivalents.
Eating less doesn't mean needing less of everything. Several nutrients hold steady or climb after 60 even as calories fall — the practical meaning of "nutrient-dense" for older adults. Below are the Dietary Reference Intakes for the two older-adult brackets, from the data behind our DRI calculator.
| Nutrient | Men 51–70 | Men 71+ | Women 51–70 | Women 71+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protein (g, RDA) — Holds steady with age while calories fall, so it fills a bigger share of the plate. | 56 | 56 | 46 | 46 |
| Vitamin D (mcg, RDA) — Rises to 20 mcg (800 IU) at 71+ — skin makes less from sunlight with age. | 15 | 20 | 15 | 20 |
| Vitamin B12 (mcg, RDA) — Unchanged at 2.4 mcg, but harder to absorb from food after 50; fortified foods help. | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| Vitamin B6 (mg, RDA) — Higher after 50 than in younger adults (up to 1.7 mg for men). | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Calcium (mg, RDA) — 1,200 mg for everyone 71+ (and for women from 51) to protect bone. | 1000 | 1200 | 1200 | 1200 |
| Potassium (mg, AI) — Unchanged into older age; helps blunt sodium's effect on blood pressure. | 3400 | 3400 | 2600 | 2600 |
| Total Fiber (g, AI) — Scales with calories, so the target eases — but density still matters for digestion. | 30 | 30 | 21 | 21 |
Dietary Reference Intakes (RDA or AI) from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, for the 51–70 and 71+ life-stage brackets. See the DRI calculator for your full personalized set.
Calorie needs decline with age. The Estimated Energy Requirement equations behind our calculator subtract energy for every year of age — about 9.5 calories a year for men and 6.9 for women — on top of the drop that comes as activity eases. In the USDA Dietary Guidelines' estimated ranges, most women over 60 sit near 1,600 calories a day when they're not very active and up toward 2,000 when they are; most men land between about 2,000 and 2,600.
Starting points, not prescriptions — Body size, health conditions, and how much you move all shift the number. Enter your own details in the free MyPlate Plan calculator for a personalized daily target, then read it against the food-group table above to see the cups and ounce-equivalents that match.
The federal RDA for protein doesn't drop with age — it stays at 56 grams a day for men and 46 grams for women across every adult bracket, including 51–70 and 71+. Because calorie needs fall while that target holds, protein has to fill a larger share of a smaller plate, leaving less room for empty calories.
So MyPlate's advice to vary your protein matters more, not less, after 60. All of these count toward your daily target:
The protein foods group guide breaks down what a daily ounce-equivalent looks like, and the MyPlate Plan calculator shows how many you need at your calorie level.
MyPlate.gov carried a set of life-stage pages: one applied the plate to older adults — the same five food groups and daily amounts, framed for the realities of eating well after 60 — while a companion MyPlate for pregnancy & breastfeeding page did the same for expecting and nursing parents. When USDA retired the MyPlate.gov website in January 2026 alongside the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines, that page went offline with the rest of the site; the underlying science did not.
The food-pattern tables that set those amounts are still published, and this page rebuilds the older-adults guidance from them — independently of USDA, which appears here only as the source of the data. For the broader story of what changed in 2026 and where the plate lives now, see our explainer on what happened to MyPlate.
Not quite, and the distinction matters. The named graphic often called "MyPlate for Older Adults" is a separate adaptation created and maintained by nutrition scientists at Tufts University, not a USDA product. It builds on the MyPlate idea but adds age-specific cues:
This page is not the Tufts graphic — We don't reproduce or host it — Tufts maintains its own version. What we offer instead is USDA's own MyPlate food groups applied to the 60+ life stage, with the daily amounts and nutrient targets above drawn from public USDA and National Academies data. If you want the Tufts illustration specifically, that remains Tufts' to publish.
Yes. Although USDA retired the MyPlate.gov website — including its older-adults life-stage page — in January 2026, the five food groups and the food-pattern amounts behind them remain published and valid. This page applies that guidance to adults 60+, and the free MyPlate Plan calculator personalizes it.
The Dietary Reference Intake for protein is 56 grams a day for men and 46 grams for women, and it does not fall with age — the same targets apply at 51–70 and 71+. Because daily calories drop after 60, protein makes up a larger share of the plate, so choosing lean, varied protein foods matters more.
Vitamin D rises to 20 micrograms (800 IU) a day at 71+, up from 15 micrograms earlier in adulthood, and calcium is 1,200 milligrams for both men and women in that bracket. Vitamin B12 (2.4 micrograms) stays constant but is harder to absorb from food with age. The key-nutrients table on this page lists the full set with values.
The named "MyPlate for Older Adults" graphic is a separate adaptation from researchers at Tufts University, not a USDA product. This page is independent too: MyPlate.food is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the USDA — it applies USDA's public MyPlate food groups and Dietary Reference Intakes to adults 60+, with USDA credited only as the source.
Every figure on this page traces to a public federal source. MyPlate.food is independent and not affiliated with the USDA, HHS, the NIH, or the National Academies — they appear here only as source credits.