The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) for 2025-2030 have caused significant controversy, with polarised opinions between their supporters and detractors. They are disruptive, to say the least, both in how they are presented and the recommendations they make.

But little has been said about the fact that, for the first time since 1980, after nine editions in 45 years, the standard scientific procedure for preparing them has been completely bypassed.

The most striking thing about the 2025-2030 GDAs is their graphic representation. It breaks radically with established visuals like MyPlate (a guide represented as a pie chart in the form of a plate, in use since 2010) and the typical “food pyramid”, which has been around from 1992 to the present day.

The new guidelines use an inverted pyramid, which creates a visual gradient from the most recommended foods at the top to the least recommended at the bottom.

This is not an entirely new format. The Flemish Institute for Healthy Living used it in 2017, but with two clear differences: it explained the reason for the new chart and how to interpret it, and its contents were clearly different – even contradictory – to the current DGAs.

In terms of content, the new guidelines contain obvious contradictions, and messages that are questionable in light of scientific evidence:

The report recommends that saturated fats should not exceed 10% of total calorie intake. However it........

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