January 12, 2026

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The National WIC Association (NWA) has provided an update on the recently released 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) and the accompanying document, The Scientific Foundation for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. These guidelines aim to set standards for American eating patterns and the country’s food programs.

Many recommendations in the new DGA align with previous guidelines, emphasizing the consumption of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Notably, the updated guidelines include specific recommendations for pregnancy, lactation, and early childhood, largely echoing the 2020-2025 recommendations. They encourage exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and suggest continued breastfeeding alongside solid foods for up to two years or beyond.

However, the 2025-2030 DGA also introduces significant changes, including recommendations for including full-fat dairy, butter, and other saturated fat-rich foods in a healthy diet. This stands in contrast to the guideline's retained recommendation of limiting saturated fat to 10% of total calories and diverges from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s (DGAC) advice to promote fat-free or low-fat dairy.

Another notable difference is the reduced length of the new DGA, which is six pages compared to over one hundred pages in its predecessor. While this brevity might be beneficial for the general public, the previous DGA served as a comprehensive resource for dietitians and healthcare providers to guide nutrition education, often supplemented by federal tools like MyPlate. The limited content in the 2025-2030 DGA may hinder nutrition educators, including WIC nutritionists, in effectively disseminating dietary recommendations.

Although there is currently no immediate impact on WIC, NWA plans to monitor the USDA's next steps closely. USDA must review WIC food packages every ten years in alignment with the latest dietary guidance, but no timeline for the next review has been announced. Additionally, updates to WIC nutrition education materials may occur as the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) integrates insights from the new DGA.

NWA encourages members to provide feedback and questions and looks forward to collaboration as the new DGA is implemented.