Apr 15 -- The Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture solicit written comments on the scientific questions to be examined in the review of evidence supporting the development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030. Comments will be accepted through midnight Eastern Time on May 16, 2022.
Section 301 of the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5341) requires the Secretaries of HHS and USDA to publish the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Dietary Guidelines) jointly at least every five years. The most recent edition of the Dietary Guidelines (2020-2025) provided guidance on the entire life span, from birth to older adulthood, including pregnancy and lactation. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 will continue to address what to eat and drink across the entire lifespan to meet nutrient needs, promote health, and reduce the risk of chronic disease.
The Departments are identifying scientific questions to be considered in the review of evidence to support the development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030.
Given the prevalence of chronic diseases in the United States, scientific questions will continue to examine the relationship between diet and health outcomes, and a special emphasis will be placed on questions that address food-based strategies that can be used to help individuals implement the Dietary Guidelines and prevent or manage overweight and obesity. In establishing this list of scientific questions, the Departments are considering the following criteria for prioritization: relevance to the Dietary Guidelines, importance to public health, potential impact to federal programs, avoiding duplication with other federal efforts, and research availability.
HHS and USDA request comments on the list of scientific questions to be examined in the review of evidence supporting the development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030.
Specifically, HHS and USDA request comments in support of or opposition to the proposed scientific questions. If a new scientific question is suggested, provide a brief summary of the topic, including information pertaining to the prioritization criteria listed above. It is requested that comments be limited to one page per topic. HHS and USDA will consider all relevant comments in finalizing the list of topics and questions to be examined in the development of the Dietary Guidelines, 2025-2030.
The proposed scientific questions that will inform the next edition of the Dietary Guidelines will focus on diet and health outcomes across the lifespan. This will include the relationship between diet and risk of overweight and obesity with a new emphasis on weight loss and weight maintenance. New questions also address ultra-processed foods and food-based strategies that can be used by individuals and families to support implementation of the Dietary Guidelines and help prevent or manage overweight and obesity.
All scientific questions will be reviewed with a health equity lens to ensure that resulting guidance in the Dietary Guidelines is relevant to people with diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds. Additionally, unless a specific population is identified in the question, the question will consider evidence across the lifespan, including for infants, toddlers, children, adolescents, adults, individuals who are pregnant or lactating, and older adults. For all questions examining the outcome of growth, size, body composition, risk of overweight and obesity, and weight loss and maintenance: Weight loss and maintenance will only be considered for adults and older adults. Gestational weight gain and post-partum weight loss will be examined for individuals who are pregnant or lactating.
The proposed questions are organized by the approach that will be used to answer each question: Nutrition Evidence Systematic Review (NESR) systematic reviews, food pattern modeling, and data analysis. Examples of topics that may be addressed in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 using existing Federal Resources are also provided.
The proposed systematic review questions are organized into the following topics:
Dietary Patterns Across Life Stages
Specific Dietary Pattern Components
Strategies Related to Diet Quality and Weight Management
Data analysis continues to be an important source of evidence to inform the development of the Dietary Guidelines. Prior to the establishment of the Committee, HHS and USDA will conduct data analyses that describe current dietary intakes, prevalence of nutrition-related chronic health conditions, and dietary components of public health concern to inform the work of the Committee and development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030.
There are two topics not on the list of questions to be examined by the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee that will be addressed in separate processes:
1) Alcoholic beverages remain a high priority topic, but because it requires significant, specific expertise and has unique considerations, it will be examined in a separate effort led by HHS Agencies that support work on this topic.
2) Sustainability and the complex relationship between nutrition and climate change is an important, cross-cutting, and high priority topic that also requires specific expertise. HHS and USDA will address this topic separate from the Committee’s process to inform work across the Departments.
The list of questions, more information on the criteria for prioritization, and background on the process for developing the questions is available at
https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/work-under-way
FRN inviting comments:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-08043