Healthy People is a program of a nationwide health-promotion and disease-prevention goals set by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The goals were first set in 1979 "in response to an emerging consensus among scientists and health authorities that national health priorities should emphasize disease prevention". The Healthy People program was originally issued by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. This first issue contained "a report announcing goals for a ten-year plan to reduce controllable health risks. In its section on nutrition, the report recommended diets with fewer calories; less saturated fat, cholesterol, salt, and sugar; relatively more complex carbohydrates, fish and poultry; and less red meat." Though this recommended diet consisted of more processed foods rather than fresh produce, the report advised for consumers to "be wary of processed foods". The goals were subsequently updated for Healthy People 2000, Healthy People 2010, Healthy People 2020 and Healthy People 2030.

Science based goals and objectives are reviewed, used and updated by the federal government, states, communities as well as other private institutions to combat and prevent health issues. Using the data collected, broad objectives are created in order to manage the direction of the population's health. These objectives have been used at a national level in industries such as housing and transportation, as well as at a state level as seen Iowa. The Iowa Department of Public Health utilized Healthy People 2020 to develop the Healthy Iowans state health plan. Progress towards objectives is updated regularly and can be seen on their website, where data has shown that between 2010 and 2014, 14 of the 26 indicators have met their targets as part of the Healthy People 2020 plan.

Healthy People 2010, started in January 2000 by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, was a set of nationwide health-promotion and disease-prevention goals to be achieved by the year 2010. Programs such as HealthCorps grew out of this plan.

Healthy People 2010 "was developed through a broad consultation process, built on the best scientific knowledge and designed to measure programs over time". It is composed of 467 specific objectives organized into 28 focus areas, as well as two overarching goals. The two goals are:

To track the Healthy People 2010 objectives, national data are being gathered from 190 sources. Ten "Leading Health Indicators" reflect major health concerns:

The campaign identifies 6 major factors (Social Identities) that contribute to disparities in the health of Americans:

Healthy People 2010 expanded and updated the 1979 "Healthy People" and 1990 "Healthy People 2000" efforts; for example, the Healthy People 2000 goal of "reducing health disparities" was strengthened in Healthy People 2010 to "eliminate health disparities".

Healthy People 2020 expanded on Healthy People 2010 and was presented on 2 December 2010.