How We Got Here
What are the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs)?
The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA) have published DGAs) since 1980. The DGAs form the basis for federal nutrition policy and provide advice on what to eat and drink to meet nutrient needs, promote health, and prevent disease.
How are the Dietary Guidelines Developed?
The DGAs are updated every five years, and the process for developing the 2025-2030 DGAs is underway. The process to update the DGAs involves a 5-step process with multiple opportunities for public comment and stakeholder input on the topics, questions, and methodologies for review.
The guidelines are developed based on a rigorous review conducted by a diverse group of health and nutrition experts. The DGAs must be grounded in the body of scientific and medical knowledge available at that time, not in individual studies or individual expert opinion. More about the 5-step process to develop the DGAs can be found here.
Step 1
Identify the Scientific Questions
Step 2
Appoint the Advisory Committee
Step 3
Advisory Committee Reviews Scientific Evidence
Step 4
Develop the Dietary Guidelines
Step 5
Implement the Dietary Guidelines
How will the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Alcohol be Developed?
In April 2022, for the first time since the inception of the DGAs, HHS and USDA announced that the 2025-2030 DGA alcohol research review would not be a part of the normal DGA development process and, instead, would be conducted “through efforts separate from the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.” While it is not unusual for the DGAs to have input from other federal agencies and expert committees (e.g., food safety, physical activity, breast milk), this is unprecedented for alcohol. Even more unprecedented: they announced that there would be two concurrent alcohol reviews.
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More information about the current process for reviewing the topic of adult alcohol use and health can be found here. You can read more about the issues with this new and unprecedented approach to the alcohol review on the Crux of the Issue page.
What do the Dietary Guidelines Say About Alcohol?
More than half of American adults consume alcohol, and the majority do so responsibly and in moderation. Since the very first edition, the DGAs have recommended that adults who choose to drink should do so in moderation. Over the years, additional information has been added, such as the definition of what counts as one drink (in 1985) and the definition of moderation as being up to 2 drinks a day for men and up to 1 drink a day for women (in 1995). The current DGAs include recommend the following:
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Adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink, or to drink in moderation by limiting intake to drink 2 drinks or less in a day for men and 1 or less in a day for women, when alcohol is consumed. Drinking less is better for health than drinking more. There are some adults who should not drink alcohol.
The following count as one drink:
12 fluid ounces of beer (5% Alcohol by Volume [ABV])
5 fluid ounces of wine (12% ABV)
1.5 fluid ounces of distilled spirits (40% ABV)