{"id":213063,"date":"2025-10-10T00:52:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T00:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/213063\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T00:52:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T00:52:09","slug":"rfk-jr-plans-radical-changes-to-dietary-guidelines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/213063\/","title":{"rendered":"RFK Jr. plans radical changes to dietary guidelines"},"content":{"rendered":"

The next set of Dietary Guidelines for Americans is coming soon, and they could look very different this time. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a> has said the government is streamlining hundreds of pages into just four, promising simpler and clearer advice on what to eat.<\/p>\n

Every five years, these guidelines are updated as the federal government\u2019s official nutrition playbook. They shape everything from school lunches and military meals to SNAP and WIC benefits, influencing what millions of Americans eat every day.<\/p>\n

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Kennedy\u2019s criticism of past guidelines<\/p>\n

Kennedy criticized the previous guidelines, falsely claiming they were issued during the Biden administration and describing them as \u201cindustry generated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dietary guidelines that President Biden gave us, 453 pages long, and it\u2019s just an industry-generated document,\u201d Kennedy said<\/a> during a May Senate hearing on the 2026 Department of Health and Human Services budget. \u201cThe same industry impulse that put Froot Loops at the top of the food pyramid. We are creating a four-page document that can be locally sourced that will drive the diet to the school lunch program.\u201d<\/p>\n

A fact check by The Associated Press<\/a> showed that the current guidelines, released near the end of President Donald Trump\u2019s first term, are actually 164 pages long, not 453. There are also no specific products listed in the original food pyramid. At the top, it suggests that oils, fats and sugar should be consumed sparingly.<\/p>\n

Kennedy\u2019s remarks reflect his broader criticism that U.S. nutrition policy has become overly complicated and swayed by corporate influence. He argues that a concise, whole-food-focused version would be easier for families and schools to follow. He has also promoted whole milk and a diet heavy in saturated fats, including foods cooked in beef tallow<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How the guidelines are actually made<\/p>\n

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is a panel of independent scientists who review decades of research before submitting a report to the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA). The latest 421-page report<\/a> was delivered earlier this year, and the agencies announced<\/a> in March that they would conduct a line-by-line review before final approval.<\/p>\n

According to the committee, the new recommendations emphasize flexibility and cultural adaptability. A new model called \u201cEat Healthy Your Way\u201d was designed to align with diverse cuisines and personal preferences.<\/p>\n

The plan slightly reduces starchy vegetables and calls for more dark-green vegetables and whole grains compared to the 2020 version. It also continues to encourage limited added sugar, sodium and saturated fat \u2014 consistent with long-standing dietary science.<\/p>\n

The ongoing nutrition gap<\/p>\n

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The government issues new dietary guidelines every five years, with the latest edition expected to be released by the end of 2025.<\/p>\n

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The report highlights that Americans still fall far short of recommended dietary patterns.<\/p>\n

To close that gap, it urges HHS and USDA to collaborate with behavioral, implementation and communication scientists to change eating behaviors at multiple levels \u2014 individual, community and policy.<\/p>\n

While Kennedy has promised clarity for the public, some are viewing the process itself as less than transparent. Sentient Media<\/a> recently reported that with no sign of the updated dietary guidelines, Kennedy said, \u201cWe\u2019re probably going to get them out at the end of October.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christopher Gardner, a member of the advisory committee, told Sentient he and his team were \u201ccompletely ghosted\u201d by the HHS after handing over their report.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one will tell us the name of a person who\u2019s working on it,\u201d Gardner said.<\/p>\n

The advisory committee\u2019s 2025 report also recommended moving beans, peas and lentils from \u201cvegetables\u201d to the \u201cprotein foods\u201d group. Their goal was to recognize legumes as a viable source of both protein and fiber while encouraging Americans to replace some red and processed meats with plant-based options.<\/p>\n

However, Kennedy has suggested disregarding that recommendation. Sentient reports that more than 130 physicians signed an open letter urging Kennedy and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to keep the committee\u2019s plant-based protein guidance intact.<\/p>\n

Expert reaction and concerns<\/p>\n

Kennedy has specified that the updated guidelines will be easier to read. Kevin Klatt, a nutrition research scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, said<\/a> the scientific report is not meant for casual readers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 160 pages is not intended for the everyday American to sit down and wade through,\u201d Klatt said. \u201cIt is supposed to be a scientifically rigorous document, so that when you tell the school lunch program you can\u2019t serve whole milk, you have to buy 1% or 2% or skim, there is a scientific document that backs up that rationale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klatt also noted that changing behavior requires more than simple advice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at every nutrition education campaign that\u2019s ever happened, there\u2019s limited long-term penetration because they don\u2019t change the fact that in our food environment, the easy-to-obtain option is often the opposite of our dietary guidelines,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like you walk out into your food environment and it\u2019s easy to make half of your plate fruits and vegetables, or to get whole grains and lean proteins.<\/p>\n

Administration response<\/p>\n

Rollins said in a March media release<\/a> that the new guidelines will prioritize evidence over ideology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will make certain the 2025\u20132030 Guidelines are based on sound science, not political science,\u201d Rollins said. \u201cGone are the days where leftist ideologies guide public policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kennedy echoed that sentiment, saying the upcoming version will \u201creflect the public interest and serve public health, rather than special interests.\u201d He called the update \u201ca giant step in making America the healthiest country in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Balancing simplicity with science<\/p>\n

The push to simplify U.S. nutrition advice could make the guidelines more accessible to the public. However, reducing the document to four pages risks losing nuance \u2014 especially on issues like saturated fat, dairy and portion balance.<\/p>\n

While Kennedy\u2019s message of \u201ceat whole food\u201d resonates with many Americans, researchers emphasize that evidence-based recommendations are critical for guiding schools, hospitals and public health programs.<\/p>\n

For now, the final guidelines are expected later this year, with the administration\u2019s Make America Healthy Again strategy<\/a> promising a \u201cuser-friendly format\u201d grounded in science and data.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJake Larsen (Video Editor)\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tand Devin Pavlou (Digital Producer)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tcontributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The next set of Dietary Guidelines for Americans is coming soon, and they could look very different this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":213064,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[97,269],"class_list":{"0":"post-213063","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}