AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Americans will soon get some new advice on what to eat. The federal government updates its dietary guidelines every five years. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said the Trump administration plans to release the 2025 version by the end of September. NPR health correspondent Will Stone is here to tell us more about why these guidelines are getting extra attention. Hi, Will.
WILL STONE, BYLINE: Hey there.
RASCOE: Secretary Kennedy has made food and diet a central issue in his Make America Healthy Again agenda. What's he said about the guidelines?
STONE: Quite a lot, actually. Kennedy and others in the administration have, in certain ways, vilified the current guidelines, blaming them for high rates of obesity and diet-related diseases in the U.S. Obviously, food, poor nutrition, is a huge driver of these problems. At the same time, some of Kennedy's statements have mischaracterized the process and what these guidelines are. And to give you a sense, take a listen to what he said during a congressional hearing in the spring.
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ROBERT F KENNEDY JR: We took the Biden guidelines, which were 453 pages long and were clearly written by industry, that are incomprehensible, driven by the same industry capture and those kind of carnal impulses that put Froot Loops at the top of the food pyramid. And we are changing that.
STONE: Kennedy has gone on to say the forthcoming guidelines will be brief. They'll be easy to read. And they will emphasize, quote, whole foods, healthy foods and local foods.
RASCOE: So how much of what Kennedy said there is actually accurate about the current guidelines?
STONE: Yeah, there's a lot in there. First of all, the food pyramid was actually retired more than 10 years ago. It did not mention specific products like Froot Loops. That was replaced by a visual called MyPlate. That describes the food groups and how much you should aim for. For example, it says, try to fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables. More broadly, it's important to realize the guidelines are developed by a committee of leading experts in nutrition through an extensive review of the data. The current ones from 2020 were released under the Trump administration. During the Biden years, a scientific committee was assembled to put together its report for this 2025 version. They don't actually write the guidelines, though. They offer recommendations, and what gets released is ultimately up to the Department of Agriculture and HHS.
RASCOE: So does it seem like there will be some big changes this time around?
STONE: Well, that's definitely what Kennedy and others seem to be indicating. The definition of a healthy eating pattern has remained pretty consistent over the years, emphasizing vegetables and fruits, whole grains, lean meat, and limiting certain foods like saturated fat, added sugar. That's echoed in the newest report. But Kennedy has made no secret of his love for beef tallow and meat more broadly, so that could be one change we see. He's also called for elevating the role of whole-fat dairy. Ultra-processed food is another area to watch. I spoke to Deanna Hoelscher, who's at the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. She was on the 2025 committee and says some people have misunderstood their findings.
DEANNA HOELSCHER: We did say there was a relationship between consumption of ultra-processed foods and health outcomes, and specifically to growth, body composition and obesity. But the relationship was limited.
STONE: And she says that's partly because scientists are still figuring out exactly how to define ultra-processed food. And high-quality evidence is pretty limited right now, so they have to be cautious. And I think, Ayesha, this just underscores - the committee tends to be pretty conservative in their recommendations. They don't want to get ahead of the science. Now, Kennedy and others in the MAHA movement have talked a lot about the harms of ultra-processed food, and they could push this much further.
RASCOE: So how consequential would it be if the new guidelines stray from these recommendations?
STONE: Well, it is worth pointing out that most Americans currently don't follow the dietary guidelines. But Barbara Schneeman tells me they still matter a lot. She was the chair of the 2020 scientific committee.
BARBARA SCHNEEMAN: They are used in federal government policy. They're used by educators. They're used by health professionals. So undercutting the guidelines - I think it will have major implications for many programs. My hope is there will be awareness of what the advisory committee did so that people can judge for themselves if it gets changed.
STONE: Schneeman says in 2020, the Trump administration did not heed all of their advice - for example, on added sugar and alcohol. But for the most part, they did follow the recommendations. Whether that happens this time, we may find out in a few weeks.
RASCOE: That's NPR's health correspondent Will Stone. Thank you so much, Will.
STONE: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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