In December, the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) issued their final scientific report to the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA) to inform the development of the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs).
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) was pleased that the DGAC scientific report affirmed the essential role of dairy in the diets of Americans, recommending the continued consumption of three servings of dairy per day for most Americans and maintaining dairy as a distinct food group due to its unparalleled health and nutrition benefits.
The DGAC report provides broad dietary recommendations, including introducing a new recommended eating pattern, “Eat Healthy Your Way,” that gives Americans flexibility to select the healthy foods and beverages that best meet their needs. The DGAC found once again that healthy diets associated with favorable health outcomes include fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seafood, and low-fat dairy.
While the DGAC report again identified saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar as nutrients to limit, the Committee recommends that the overall limits on these nutrients remain the same as those established in the current iteration of the DGAs.
Many of the recommendations in the DGAC report align with IDFA’s nutrition advocacy priorities, including:
- Maintain dairy as separate food group The report again includes dairy as a distinct food group, reaffirming its unmatched health and nutrition benefits. Dairy products contain up to 13 essential nutrients, including three of the four nutrients of public health concern due to underconsumption by Americans: calcium, vitamin D, and potassium.
- Maintain three servings of dairy per day across the recommended dietary patterns The report again includes the recommendation that most Americans consume three servings of dairy per day, with a stronger emphasis than in the past on selecting low-fat or fat-free unflavored dairy products. Importantly, the DGAC found that almost all Americans are still under-consuming dairy despite this recommendation.
- Recognize dairy’s vital role in health equity and its nutritional benefits for Americans from various racial, ethnic, socio economic, and cultural backgrounds. The report highlighted lactose-free dairy options as an integral part of the dairy group, ensuring dairy nutrition is accessible to all Americans, including those who have concerns about lactose intolerance. It will be important for the final DGAs and federal programs overall to continue to emphasize the important role of lactose-free dairy products.
While there were positive recommendations inclusive of nutrient-dense dairy products, we were surprised that the science on dairy at all fat levels was not reflected in the report. The latest science shows that full-fat dairy products do not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease or weight gain, and in fact are likely to have positive health benefits. This body of science was provided to the Committee, but the vast majority was ultimately excluded from review by the DGAC due to the study designs. We feel strongly this science should be reconsidered and recommendations updated prior to the issuance of the final 2025-2030 DGA. It’s time the government strike its outdated recommendation to limit dairy based on fat levels.
Following additional comments from the public, HHS and USDA will develop the final 2025-2030 DGAs that should be released by the end of 2025. Maintaining the recommendation of three servings of dairy products each day is key to dairy’s continued inclusion in federal nutrition programs and for upholding dairy’s position as a core food in healthy diets. The incoming administration should continue this key recommendation and consider the abundance of science supporting the positive health outcomes associated with dairy at all fat levels.
