2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Focus on Increased Protein and Full-Fat Dairy, Address Ultraprocessed Foods

These guidelines influence various government nutritional programs, such as food coverage under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and school lunch preparations. They are also utilized by eldercare and childcare centers and by clinical nutritionists assisting patients in achieving healthier diets. Due to their solid scientific basis, many countries model their nutritional guidelines after these U.S. guidelines.

I am a nutrition scientist with expertise in obesity prevention. From 2022 to 2024, I served on the scientific advisory committee that assessed current nutritional evidence to inform the updates to these guidelines. However, many of our committee’s recommendations were overlooked in the current guidelines.

While the new guidelines share similarities with the 2020 version, the process of their formulation diverged notably. Historically, previous guidelines did not address ultraprocessed foods specifically, but the emerging evidence linking these foods to chronic diseases has led to their explicit mention in the latest version.

The development process for the guidelines includes a thoroughly vetted scientific advisory committee that reviews research and formulates recommendations over two years. Although my committee's report was published in December 2024, the guidelines released were primarily based on a separate report that lacked the standard vetting processes, raising questions about its peer review and scientific rigor.

The overarching content in the new guidelines remains consistent with past editions, recommending three daily servings of vegetables, two servings of fruits, three servings of dairy, whole grains instead of refined, and limits on sugar and sodium intake. However, there are significant changes regarding protein and dairy.

The new guidelines emphasize incorporating protein into every meal from diverse sources rather than focusing solely on lean meats. They recommend higher protein intake — specifically, 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily — surpassing the previous recommendation of 0.8 grams.

Moreover, the updated guidelines endorse full-fat dairy products, contradicting previous advice that favored low-fat options. The practicality of this recommendation is questionable as it does not alter the maximum advised saturated fat intake of 10%. A preliminary analysis indicates these changes could lead to exceeding this saturated fat limit, creating inconsistencies in dietary messaging.

The new guidelines uniquely urge the avoidance of ultraprocessed foods, shifting from the previous routine of promoting nutrient-dense foods, which typically imply a preference for less processed items. Nonetheless, the definition of ultraprocessed foods remains unclear, and current research on their long-term health effects is limited.

While there have been advancements in evidence regarding ultraprocessed foods and chronic disease connections, the foundation of these updated guidelines raises doubts about their scientific validity. Concerns persist regarding the unsettled nature of research on saturated fats, emphasizing the need for a systematic evaluation process involving diverse expert input.

In summary, although some elements of the new dietary guidelines may be beneficial, it remains uncertain if the necessary scientific rigor was applied during their development.