STAT+: Behind new dietary guidelines: Industry-funded studies, opaque science, crushing deadline pressure
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WASHINGTON \u2014 In early May, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had good news for the President: updated dietary guidelines, which were due at the end of 2025, would be delivered ahead of schedule.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working very, very fast together. We\u2019re going to get it done by the end of the summer in time to drive change \u2014 major, dramatic changes \u2014 in the school food,\u201d he said during the livestreamed meeting<\/a> with other Cabinet officials. The secretary had already promised to give the nation new diet advice free from industry influence and conflicts of interest \u2014 a serious problem with the previous guidance, he said.<\/p>\n He broke both vows, delivering guidelines on Jan. 7, and enlisting researchers with numerous financial relationships<\/a> to industry groups and companies. STAT, which broke news of some of the industry ties last week, has learned of further entanglements among the researchers, along with behind-the-scenes details about a time-pressured, improvisatory process that even one panelist called \u201ca little outrageous.\u201d<\/p>\n Continue to STAT+ to read the full story\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n