The new year is a time when many Americans make resolutions to ditch bad habits and improve their health. In that same spirit, the Trump Administration is pleased to announce the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030, which mark the most significant reset of federal nutrition policy in our nation’s history.
The message is simple and should not be controversial: eat real food.
That means more protein, dairy, vegetables, fruit, healthy fats and whole grains. Combined with a dramatic reduction in highly processed foods – which are often loaded with refined carbohydrates, added sugars, excess sodium, unhealthy fats and chemical additives – this approach has the potential to improve Americans’ health trajectory.
These improvements are long overdue. It’s no secret that the United States is currently facing a national health emergency. Nearly 90% of healthcare spending goes to treating people with chronic diseases. Many of these diseases are not due to genetic fate; they are the predictable result of the standard American diet – a diet high in processed foods, added sugars, unhealthy fats and sodium, while low in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
PRESIDENT TRUMP TAKES IMPORTANT, STRATEGIC STEPS TO PROTECT US CONSUMERS
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recommend a return to real food, not processed. (iStock, USDA, HHS)
The consequences have been devastating. More than 70% of American adults are overweight or obese, and nearly one in three American adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 have prediabetes.
While these statistics represent a tragedy for those directly affected, they have also endangered our national security. Diet-related chronic diseases now disqualify large numbers of young Americans from military service, undermining national preparedness and cutting off a historic path to opportunity and upward mobility.
For decades, federal incentives have promoted low-value, highly processed foods and pharmaceutical interventions instead of prevention. This was a recipe for disaster, and it was the inevitable result of poor policy choices, inadequate nutrition research, and a lack of coordination among federal, state, local, and private partners.
Today, thanks to President Donald Trump’s bold leadership, this series of failures ends.
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Finally, we are realigning our food system to support American farmers, ranchers and businesses that grow and produce real food. Farmers and ranchers are at the forefront of the solution, whether they grow beef, supply dairy, or harvest nutritious fruits and vegetables.
These dietary guidelines recognize that the national health crisis affects us all and must be addressed through a holistic nationwide effort. We call on everyone – especially healthcare professionals, insurers, educators, community leaders, industry and lawmakers at all levels of government – ​​to join us.
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Together we can shift our food system from chronic disease to nutrition, resilience and long-term health.
As we ring in the new year, let’s recommit to Making America Healthy Again, creating real improvement through real food.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the 26th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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CLICK HERE TO BROOKE L. ROLLINS
