New poll finds most Americans ignored 2025 Dietary Guidelines despite widespread awareness

Six months after the release of the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, just 18% of US adults say they have changed their diet based on the recommendations, according to a new poll commissioned by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and conducted by Morning Consult.

• A Morning Consult poll found only 18% of US adults changed their diet after the latest Dietary Guidelines were released.
• Those who made changes most commonly increased fruit and vegetable intake and reduced processed foods and saturated fat.
• The Physicians Committee criticized the guidelines' emphasis on animal protein and full-fat dairy, citing health concerns.

The survey of 2,205 US adults found that while awareness of the Dietary Guidelines was high, relatively few respondents had altered their eating habits in response.

Among those who did make changes, the most common adjustments were consuming more fruit (48%), eating more vegetables (45%), reducing processed foods (42%), prioritizing fiber-rich whole grains (40%), and limiting saturated fat (40%).

By comparison, only 28% of respondents who changed their diets said they were prioritizing protein from animal sources, while 27% reported consuming more full-fat dairy products.

The latest Dietary Guidelines recommend prioritizing protein, with an emphasis on meat and other animal products, consuming dairy including full-fat options, increasing fruit and vegetable intake, focusing on whole grains, limiting highly processed foods, and keeping saturated fat below 10% of daily calorie intake.

"The good news is that Americans are following the Dietary Guidelines' recommendations to eat more fruits, veggies, and grains and to avoid saturated fat," said Anna Herby, DHSc, RD, CDCES, nutrition education specialist for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. "And they are ignoring recommendations to consume animal protein and full-fat dairy products, which can increase the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers."

The poll also found that most respondents were aware of the recommendation to reduce processed food consumption. Herby argued that while processed meats and other animal products have been linked to diet-related diseases, processed plant-based foods such as bread, cereal, and veggie burgers can offer health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Awareness of the guidelines' recommendation to consume more protein was also high. Among respondents who said they were following that advice, 75% reported eating more eggs, while 70% said they were consuming more nuts and seeds.

While describing nuts and seeds as healthy protein sources, the Physicians Committee raised concerns about greater egg consumption, citing research linking eggs to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.

The organization also pointed to research associating diets high in animal protein with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, chronic disease mortality, and other health conditions, while highlighting evidence that replacing animal protein with plant protein may help reduce those risks.

"Instead of eggs and other animal products, Americans who want to boost their protein intake should be eating more beans," said Herby. "Beans are rich in both protein and fiber - a nutrient most Americans aren't getting enough of."

The poll also explored attitudes toward the development of the Dietary Guidelines. Although the Physicians Committee argued that the report underpinning the latest guidelines was written by authors with ties to the meat and dairy industries, 43% of respondents said that industry involvement did not affect their trust in the recommendations.

"Americans should be concerned that industry influenced the Dietary Guidelines to recommend animal products that are driving the nation's diet-related disease epidemics," said Herby, "while the original scientific recommendations to consume a more plant-based diet were left out."

According to the Physicians Committee, the report used to develop the current Dietary Guidelines replaced an earlier scientific report that recommended including "more nutrient-dense plant-based meal and dietary recommendation options."

Updated every five years by the US Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans help shape federal nutrition policy, including school meal programs and other public nutrition initiatives.

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