The Dietary Guidelines for Americans were last updated just as the pandemic got underway and they got very little attention. This time, it’s likely to be different when the public process gets underway. next week.

The inaugural meeting of the advisory Committee (See the list of members here) is scheduled for Feb. 9-10 and will be open for the public to view virtually via live webcast. Meeting information, including how to submit public comments, is available at www.DietaryGuidelines.gov.

The first Dietary Guidelines for Americans were issued in 1980 and they’ve been updated every five years since 1990 to serve as the cornerstone of federal nutrition programs and policies, providing food-based recommendations to help prevent diet-related chronic diseases and promote overall health.

The Dietary Guidelines inform a variety of federal activities, such as updating nutrition standards for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Federally funded nutrition education activities also use the Dietary Guidelines to develop messages, while also tailoring them to meet the particular needs of a specific audience based on culture, context, life stage, and other considerations wher needed.

Besides the federal government, tribal, state, and local governments, academic institutions, non-government organizations, and the private sector use the Dietary Guidelines to inform their research, policy, programs, and practices for public health promotion and disease prevention initiatives. 

Not everything will be on he agenda, however. The topics of alcohol and sustainability will not be examined by the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. These topics will be addressed in separate processes.

The administrative responsibility for leading the process alternates between The Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture . The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the HHS is the organizational lead for the 2025 process.

Appointments of 20 nationally recognized nutrition and public health experts to serve on the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (Committee) were announced on Jan. 19.

The Committee will review the current body of nutrition science and develop a scientific report that includes its independent, science-based advice for HHS and USDA to consider.

The Committee’s review, along with public comments on its scientific report and agency input, will help inform HHS and USDA as they develop the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030.

Throughout the Committee’s term, members will collaborate during public and subcommittee meetings, participate in the development of evidence review protocols, review and synthesize evidence, present scientific findings, consider public comments, and develop and submit the scientific report. To learn more about the Committee’s purpose, duties, and general operations, review the Committee’s charter