Dietary guidelines emphasize more protein and less added sugar

The Trump administration on Jan. 7 released new five-year U.S. dietary guidelines that raise recommended adult protein intake to 1.2–1.6 g/kg per day, advise avoiding added sugars and highly processed foods, and encourage full-fat dairy while keeping a 10% cap on saturated fat.

The administration released the 2025–2030 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans on Jan. 7. The document recommends higher daily protein intake, reduced added sugar and avoidance of highly processed foods. The guidelines are issued every five years by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture and they inform federal nutrition programs and public health messaging. The update is associated with the administration’s "Make America Healthy Again" agenda and has been advanced by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Key points: - The guidelines recommend adults consume 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, up from the prior 0.8 g/kg figure. - They state that "no amount" of added sugars or non-nutritive sweeteners is recommended as part of a healthy diet and that added sugars, if consumed, should not exceed 10 grams per meal. - The guidance advises avoiding highly processed foods and products with artificial flavors and dyes, and notes HHS and USDA are working on a federal definition for ultra-processed foods. - The update encourages consumption of full-fat dairy and retains a cap that saturated fat should make up no more than 10% of daily calories. - The guidelines omit the previous explicit one- or two-drink-per-day alcohol recommendation and instead advise adults to "consume less alcohol for better overall health." - The guidelines form the basis for federal nutrition programs, including school meals consumed by nearly 30 million children, and the advisory committee process has been flagged for future reform by the administration’s MAHA Commission. Summary: The new guidelines change several specific recommendations — notably increasing the advised protein intake, tightening added-sugar guidance, and urging avoidance of highly processed foods — while keeping some longstanding guidance such as the saturated-fat cap. Agencies and administration officials have said the changes reflect science and will affect federal nutrition programs, and HHS and USDA have said they will develop a federal definition for ultra-processed foods and consider reforms to the advisory process.