"Every five years, the U.S. government releases an updated set of recommendations on healthy eating. This document, called the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, has served as the cornerstone of nutrition policy for almost half a century. On Jan. 7, 2026, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture released the 2025-2030 edition of the guidelines. The updated guidelines recommend that people consume more protein and fat, and less ultraprocessed foods."
"These guidelines are the foundation for governmental nutritional programs - for example, they are used to determine which foods are covered by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, as well as how school lunches are prepared. Eldercare centers and child care centers use them when providing meals, as do clinical nutritionists working with patients to help them achieve a healthy diet. And because the guidelines are so scientifically rigorous, many countries around the world base their own nutritional guidelines on them."
The 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend greater protein and fat intake and reduced consumption of ultraprocessed foods. Federal departments released the update on Jan. 7, 2026. The guidelines form the basis for SNAP coverage, school lunch composition, eldercare and child care meal planning, and clinical nutrition guidance; many other nations use them as a model. A scientific advisory committee, composed of vetted nutrition experts, spent two years reviewing the latest studies across multiple nutrition topics to assess evidence. Most advisory committee recommendations were not adopted in the final guidelines. The guideline development process diverged from prior editions' typical procedures.
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