By Beth Olson, PhD
The newest version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), for 2025-2030, were recently released and garnered more media attention than previous releases. This was in part because the new DGAs were promoted as being a significant change from previous versions and better aligned with the goal of reducing chronic disease incidence. However, if one digs into the guidelines, many of the messages are the same as earlier versions: eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains with fiber, eat a variety of protein foods, eat fewer processed food high in sodium and added sugars, stay hydrated and drink water, watch portion sizes and be active.
What was different was presentation and part of the guidelines development process. On presentation: The guidelines had evolved over the decades from a short brochure intended for consumers, to a longer document which put the guidelines in context for educators and health professionals. In turn, materials using a graphic called MyPlate were provided by the federal government for use with the public. This included tip sheets, recipes, tools to plan meals and diets, posters for use with children, and more. The new DGAs are much shorter and provide no context for use with the public. The MyPlate graphic was replaced with a Food Guide Pyramid, previously used but abandoned in 2011. This version of the Food Guide Pyramid is inverted and places meat and whole fat dairy front and center. The government has begun a marketing campaign for whole milk – we will see if meat promotion follows. This points to an inconsistency in the current DGAs. There is still a limit on saturated fat intake of 10% of calories; this will be difficult to achieve if people switch to whole fat dairy and increase their meat consumption – both sources of saturated fat. No accompanying materials were provided to implement the guidelines or the new Food Guide Pyramid.
On process: Previous versions of the DGAs resulted from the production of a scientific report from a panel of experts, who met together and in work groups, and had public meetings. Public comments were considered in the final version of the DGAs. The current DGAs added another set of scientists who conducted reviews, but without the transparency of public meetings and comment. Rationale for the new DGAs (the “foundation”) and the scientific reviews as appendices are provided online. This process appears to have been rushed, with inconsistencies and errors appearing in the rationale, and no indication the new science pieces were reviewed by a broader set of scientists.
The DGAs are to serve as guidance for other federal nutrition and education programs, for communication by health professionals, and for industry reformulations. It’s not clear yet if changes need to be made in these programs and if so, what resources will be provided to make any change. In the meantime-all the basic advice is the same: choose fruits, vegetables and whole grains often, eat a variety of protein foods (including plant sources), use dairy or other fortified foods to get your calcium, keep hydrated and be active.