- The 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee held its fifth meeting May 29-30, 2024. The Committee is charged with reviewing current nutrition science to develop a scientific report with independent, science-based advice for HHS and USDA to consider when developing the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
- The Dietary Guidelines are developed through a five-step process beginning with identifying scientific questions. The Committee is then appointed to review scientific evidence, and finally HHS and USDA develop and implement the guidelines. The 2025-2030 scientific questions include the relationship between dietary patterns and certain health conditions and life stages, including the effect of ultra-processed foods; specific dietary pattern components, such as added sugars and saturated fats; and strategies related to diet quality and weight management. Two priority topics that are not on the list of questions to be examined are alcoholic beverages and sustainability. HHS will lead a separate examination of alcoholic beverages, which require significant, specific expertise; HHS and USDA will address the complex relationship between nutrition and climate change separate from the Committee’s process.
- The Committee is appointed every five years and comprises 20 members who “examine the relationship between diet and health across all life stages” through a health equity lens. The fifth Committee meeting included presentations from each of the subcommittees, as well as full Committee deliberations. In particular, the Committee discussed the role of dairy products, considering that about 36 percent of people in the U.S. are lactose-intolerant. The presentation slides and video recordings will be posted to the Dietary Guidelines website when they are available, which could take up to one month.
- The final Committee meeting is slated for September 25-26, 2024. The Committee will release its scientific report in late 2024, and the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans will be released in 2025. Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor and share updates regarding the development process.