{"id":26238,"date":"2026-02-18T09:00:39","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T14:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=26238"},"modified":"2026-02-06T13:44:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T18:44:40","slug":"what-are-some-examples-of-confusing-advice-in-the-2025-2030-dietary-guidelines-for-americans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2026\/02\/18\/what-are-some-examples-of-confusing-advice-in-the-2025-2030-dietary-guidelines-for-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are Some Examples of Confusing Advice in the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD<\/p>\n

In an earlier post<\/a> about the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans<\/em><\/a>, I said I\u2019d explain more about one of the many confusing statements in these guidelines, namely, that despite the Guidelines<\/em> stating that they prioritize whole foods, the number of recommended servings of grains has a been reduced. That\u2019s only one of a number of problems, specifically with the Guide to Daily Servings<\/a> that is a companion to the Guidelines<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Warning: This is a somewhat technical discussion, but it is important for those who are concerned about issues like how these flawed Guidelines<\/em> will be used to develop meal plans for everything from school lunch to congregate meal sites to military cafeterias and how they may be used to develop educational materials. All comparisons in this post will be to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Latest Dietary Guidelines<\/em> Tell Americans to Eat Fewer Grains<\/strong><\/p>\n

Calorie needs depend on age, sex, and physical activity level. The average moderately active 4-year old needs about 1400 calories per day; a sedentary woman age 51 years and older needs 1600 calories; a moderately active 26-45-year old woman needs about 2000 calories; a moderately active 26-45-year old man needs about 2600 calories; and an active 16-year old boy needs about 3200 calories;. Here\u2019s how many servings of grain products the two most recent editions of Dietary Guidelines <\/em>call for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Dietary Guidelines edition<\/strong><\/td>\n1400 calories<\/strong><\/td>\n1600 calories<\/strong><\/td>\n2000 calories<\/strong><\/td>\n2600 calories<\/strong><\/td>\n3200 calories<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2025-2030<\/a><\/td>\n1-3\/4 to 3-3\/4 servings of grains<\/td>\n1-3\/4 to 3-3\/4 servings of grains<\/td>\n2 to 4 servings of grains<\/td>\n3 to 6 servings of grains<\/td>\n3-1\/4 to 6-1\/2 servings of grains<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2020-2025<\/a><\/td>\n5 servings of grains<\/td>\n5 servings of grains<\/td>\n6 servings of grains<\/td>\n9 servings of grains<\/td>\n10 servings of grains<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

It\u2019s clear that the number of servings of grains recommended has decreased<\/strong> by anywhere from 1-1\/4 servings per day to 6-3\/4 servings per day. The 2025-2030 Guidelines <\/em>say that all grain servings should be whole grains whereas the 2020-2025 Guidelines<\/em> called for at least half of grain servings being whole grains, but this does not explain why the total number of servings of grains has been slashed. Grain foods provide many nutrients including B-vitamins, iron, zinc, fiber (whole grains), folic acid (enriched grains), and protein. Grain products include breads, tortillas, chapatis, rice, quinoa, breakfast cereals, oatmeal, pasta. To see why the number of servings of grains is markedly reduced in the 2025-2030 Guidelines<\/em>, we need to see which food group now has an increased number of servings.<\/p>\n

The Latest Dietary Guidelines<\/em> Tell Americans to Eat More \u201cProtein Foods\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a little challenging to compare the 2020-2025 and the 2025-2030 Guidelines<\/em> recommendations for \u201cprotein foods\u201d because each edition uses different serving sizes. For illustration purposes, I will convert recommendations into ounces of meat, fish, and poultry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Dietary Guidelines edition<\/strong><\/td>\n1400 calories<\/strong><\/td>\n1600 calories<\/strong><\/td>\n2000 calories<\/strong><\/td>\n2600 calories<\/strong><\/td>\n3200 calories<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2025-2030<\/a><\/td>\n6 to 7-1\/2 ounces of meat, fish, poultry<\/td>\n7-1\/2 to 10-1\/2 ounces of meat, fish, poultry<\/td>\n9 to 12 ounces of meat, fish, poultry<\/td>\n10-1\/2 to 13-1\/2 ounces of meat, fish, poultry<\/td>\n12-15 ounces of meat, fish, poultry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2020-2025<\/a><\/td>\n4 ounces of meat, fish, poultry<\/td>\n5 ounces of meat, fish, poultry<\/td>\n5-1\/2 ounces of meat, fish, poultry<\/td>\n6-1\/2 ounces of meat, fish, poultry<\/td>\n7 ounces of meat, fish, poultry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The number of ounces recommended has increased<\/strong> from 2 ounces per day to 8 ounces (or a half pound of cooked meat) per day. In honesty, I must note that the \u201cprotein foods\u201d group also includes eggs, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, nut butters, seed butters, and soy products. I\u2019d like to think that people would be eating more plant \u201cprotein foods\u201d under the new guidelines, but I think it\u2019s more likely that many people will continue to equate meat with protein and use these guidelines to rationalize eating more animal products. This is bad for human health, the environment, and animals. And, there\u2019s no evidence that Americans are deficient in protein. The group developing the most recent Guidelines<\/em> has been criticized<\/a> for their ties to the meat and dairy industry.<\/p>\n

The Latest Dietary Guidelines<\/em> Offer Confusing Advice About Amounts of Protein Foods<\/strong><\/p>\n

Things start getting really confusing when we compare what a serving of \u201cProtein Foods\u201d looks like in the 2025-2030 Guidelines <\/em>and the 2020-2025 Guidelines. <\/em>Serving sizes in the 2020-2025 Guidelines <\/em>were based on a careful analysis<\/a> involving looking at the nutrient content of foods included in a food group and how frequently the food was consumed. If you\u2019re interested in the details of this process, you can read the entire report here<\/a>. It\u2019s not clear how serving sizes in the 2025-2030 Guidelines <\/em>were determined. This has led to some surprising recommendations.<\/p>\n

In the 2020-2025 Guidelines<\/em><\/a>, based on careful analysis, an ounce-equivalent from the \u201cProtein Foods\u201d Group is:<\/p>\n