New Year's resolutions and guilt from holiday indulgences make January the top dieting month, notes a UC Davis nutritionist. As folks launch new diet plans, they should turn to the federal Dietary Guidelines, suggests Barbara Schneeman, a nutrition professor and dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, who helped draft the recently revised booklet. "Health, not fashion, should be the motivator for weight loss," stresses Schneeman. "Too often, people set their dieting goals to fit into certain clothes, rather than to decrease their risk of heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes." The new Dietary Guidelines contains a graph to help determine if one's body weight poses a health risk and recommends that weight be lost gradually at about one pound per week. Dieters should avoid high-fat foods, replacing them with nutrient-rich and filling fruits, vegetables, beans and whole-grain products. "In addition to developing exercise programs, people also should simply add more activity to their daily routines by climbing stairs, arranging walking appointments, and walking or biking short distances," says Schneeman. The Dietary Guidelines are on the World Wide Web at http://www.nalusda.gov/fnic/dga/dga95.html.