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Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future

Opinions of the Upcoming Dietary Guidelines    

Initial findings from a November 2025 survey of American adults

The federal government is expected to release the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans in early January 2026. These guidelines which are revised and issued every five years by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services — shape nutrition standards for federal meal programs and guide health professionals nationwide. The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future commissioned a national survey to assess awareness and trust in the Dietary Guidelines.

Highlights

  • About half of Americans say they trust their own doctor or healthcare provider the most when it comes to information on what is healthy to eat. Only 5% chose guidance from the government as their most trusted source of information.
  • Most people (72%) say they have heard little or nothing at all about the Dietary Guidelines in the news this year.
  • A majority of Americans (71%) think that the food and agriculture industries influence the development of the Dietary Guidelines (including those who think the industries have “a lot of influence” or “a moderate amount of influence”).
  • Earlier this year, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, composed of an independent panel of scientists, recommended limiting red and processed meat intake as part of a healthy dietary pattern and increasing consumption of beans, peas and lentils. In this survey, 45% of Americans said they would lose trust in the Guidelines if this recommendation were omitted in the final report, while only 15% said their trust would increase.

Methods

Using the AmeriSpeak Omnibus survey platform operated by NORC at the University of Chicago, we asked 1,090 adults about their trusted sources of nutrition information, and opinions related to trust in the forthcoming Dietary Guidelines. This survey was fielded from November 6–10, 2025, and had a 4% margin of error. Results presented below are weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population. This study was reviewed by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Institutional Review Board and deemed as exempt non-human subjects research (IRB00034622).

Eight questions about the Dietary Guidelines were included in the survey. This document presents overall results from four of the questions (Q1, Q2, Q4, and Q6).

Results

Question 1: When you are seeking trustworthy information about what is healthy to eat, which ONE source do you trust the most?

  • Social media influencers/podcasters: 1.6%
  • Other online sources: 22.6%
  • Guidance from the government (such as MyPlate, Dietary Guidelines): 5.2%
  • Family and friends: 19.7%
  • Your own doctor or other health care providers: 50.4%

Weighted responses (may not sum exactly to 100% due to rounding).

Question 2: How much have you heard or read about the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in the news or other media in the past year?

  • A lot: 5.4%
  • A moderate amount: 21.8%
  • Not much: 44.6%
  • Nothing at all: 27.8%

Weighted responses (may not sum exactly to 100% due to rounding).

Question 4: How much influence do you think the food, beverage, and agriculture industries currently have on the process of creating the Dietary Guidelines? 1

  • A lot of influence: 29.1%
  • A moderate amount of influence: 41.4%
  • A little bit of influence: 22.7%
  • No influence: 6.2%

Weighted responses (may not sum exactly to 100% due to rounding).

1. Note that respondents were given information about the two-step process for creating the Dietary Guidelines prior to this question. This is presented in the supplementary information section of this document.

Question 6: Imagine a situation where the Advisory Committee recommends that Americans eat more beans, peas, and lentils and less red meat to improve their health, but the final Dietary Guidelines does not include this recommendation.

In this situation, how would your trust in the Dietary Guidelines be affected overall?

  • I would trust the Dietary Guidelines much more: 5%
  • I would trust the Dietary Guidelines a little more: 10.5%
  • My trust would not change: 39.2%
  • I would trust the Dietary Guidelines a little less: 20.5%
  • I would trust the Dietary Guidelines much less: 24.5%

Weighted responses (may not sum exactly to 100% due to rounding).

Supplementary Information

Prior to reading Question 4, survey respondents were presented with the following information about the Dietary Guidelines process:

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are developed by the US government and provide advice on what to eat and drink to meet nutrient needs, promote health, and prevent disease.

Every five years, the Dietary Guidelines are updated and developed through a two-step process:

  1. An Advisory Committee made up of experts in nutrition and medicine from universities across America reviews the latest scientific evidence on nutrition and health. The committee produces a Scientific Report that includes recommendations for updating the Dietary Guidelines.
  2. Staff at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) review the Scientific Report, write the Dietary Guidelines, and work with other federal agencies to finalize and publish the new Dietary Guidelines.