Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications
Publication Date
7-1-2022
Journal
PNAS Nexus
DOI
10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac107
PMID
36741454
PMCID
PMC9896931
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
7-20-2022
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
dietary guidelines, nutrition policy, chronic disease, obesity, dietary fat
Abstract
The US Dietary Guidelines for Americans is an enormously influential policy that has guided US nutrition programs since 1980. During these last 40 years, some researchers have expressed concern that the guidelines are based on an insufficiently rigorous assessment of the scientific evidence, a view that was largely substantiated by a Congressionally mandated 2017 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which identified a need for enhanced transparency, greater scientific rigor, and updates to the scientific methodology for the DGA process. This paper traces the history of these ideas and contextualizes the DGA within the law and regulations that govern its process. The paper also discusses how recent iterations of the Dietary Guidelines have not fully adhered to these guiding documents, which has resulted in diminished independence of the expert committee in charge of evaluating the science for the DGA and a continued lack of a fully rigorous scientific process for producing consistent and trustworthy guidelines for the public.
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Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Commons, Medical Specialties Commons, Nutrition Commons