What foods should Americans eat to promote their health, and in what amounts? What is the scientific evidence that supports specific recommendations for dietary intake to reduce the risk of multifactorial chronic disease? These questions are critically important because dietary intake has been recognized to have a role as a key determinant of health.

As the primary federal source of consistent, evidence-based information on dietary practices for optimal nutrition, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) have the promise to empower Americans to make informed decisions about what and how much they eat to improve health and reduce the risk of chronic disease. The adoption and widespread translation of the DGA requires that they be universally viewed as valid, evidence-based, and free of bias and conflicts of interest to the extent possible. However, this has not routinely been the case.

A first short report meant to inform the 2020 review cycle explored how the advisory committee selection process can be improved to provide more transparency, eliminate bias, and include committee members with a range of viewpoints. This second and final report recommends changes to the DGA process to reduce and manage sources of bias and conflicts of interest, improve timely opportunities for engagement by all interested parties, enhance transparency, and strengthen the science base of the process.

Contents

• The National Academies of SCIENCES • ENGINEERING • MEDICINE
• COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE PROCESS TO UPDATE THE DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS
• Reviewers
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Summary
  • CHARGE TO THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE
  • FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
  • VALUES OF AN EFFECTIVE PROCESS TO UPDATE THE DGA
  • BROADENING THE SCOPE OF THE DGA
  • PROCESS REDESIGN
  • STRENGTHENING ANALYSES AND ADVANCING METHODS USED
• 1. Introduction
  • THE DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS
  • EVALUATION BY THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE
  • REFERENCES
• Part I
  • 2. Role and Purposes of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Evaluation and Findings
    • ROLE OF THE DGA
    • CLARIFYING THE PURPOSES OF THE DGA
    • FINDINGS ABOUT THE PROCESS TO UPDATE THE DGA
    • VALUES TO ENHANCE THE INTEGRITY OF THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THE DGA
    • BROADENING THE SCOPE OF THE DGA
    • CONCLUSION
    • REFERENCES
  • 3. Process Redesign
    • MODEL PROCESS REDESIGN
    • PROPOSED WORKFLOW
    • CONSIDERATION OF OPTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION
    • REFERENCES
  • 4. Strengthening Analyses and Advancing Methods Used
    • STRENGTHENING EXISTING ANALYSES
    • ADVANCING METHODS USED
    • CONCLUSION
    • REFERENCES
• Part II
  • 5. Current Process for Developing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Key Findings
    • CURRENT PROCESS
    • INCLUSION OF PREGNANT WOMEN AND CHILDREN FROM 0 TO 24 MONTHS OF AGE
    • KEY FINDINGS FROM AN ASSESSMENT OF THE PROCESSES USED TO DEVELOP THE 2005, 2010, AND 2015 EDITIONS OF THE DGA POLICY REPORTS
    • CONCLUSION
    • REFERENCES
  • 6. Current Approaches to Examining the Evidence: Key Findings
    • OVERVIEW OF THE TYPES OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND ANALYSES USED BY THE DGAC
    • ASSESSMENT OF SYSTEMATIC REVIEW METHODS
    • ASSESSMENT OF THE NEL PROCESS FOR UPDATING SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS
    • ASSESSMENT OF THE NEL PROCESS FOR USING EXISTING SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS, META-ANALYSES, AND REPORTS
    • EVALUATION OF METHODOLOGY AND USE OF FOOD PATTERN MODELING
    • DESCRIPTIVE DATA ANALYSES: EVALUATION OF METHODOLOGY AND USE
    • QUALITY OF DIETARY DATA ACROSS ALL TYPES OF EVIDENCE
    • CONCLUSION
    • REFERENCES
  • 7. Recent Approaches to Assessing Nutritional Adequacy and Exploring Chronic Disease
    • ASSESSMENTS OF NUTRIENT INTAKE LEVELS OF THE U.S. POPULATION BY THE 2005, 2010, AND 2015 DGACs
    • APPROACHES USED BY THE 2005, 2010, AND 2015 DGACs TO EXPLORE HEALTH AND CHRONIC DISEASES
    • CONCLUSION
    • REFERENCES
• APPENDIXES
  • Appendix A. Glossary
  • Appendix B. Public Workshop Agenda and Comments
  • Appendix C. DGAC Topics and Questions
  • Appendix D. Dietary Guidelines for Americans Guidelines and Key Recommendations
  • Appendix E. Additional Information About the Dietary Reference Intakes
  • Appendix F. Committee Member and Staff Biographies
  • Appendix G. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Suggested citation:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Redesigning the process for establishing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/24883.