In a move that has sent shockwaves through the medical and nutrition communities, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced plans to issue new federal guidelines that would encourage Americans to eat more saturated fats. This dramatic pivot, revealed on October 25, 2025, stands in stark contrast to decades of dietary advice that has warned against high consumption of these fats—long associated with increased risk of heart disease.
According to The Hill, Kennedy’s new guidance will "stress the need to eat saturated fats of dairy, of good meat, of fresh meat and vegetables." He emphasized that these recommendations will influence not only how nutrition is taught in schools but could also have a direct impact on federal food programs, including school lunches and military rations.
The proposal marks a sharp break from current standards. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) currently advise Americans to limit saturated fat intake to less than 10% of total daily calories, while the American Heart Association (AHA) goes further, recommending it stay under 6%. Kennedy’s plan could push that threshold up to 18% or 19%, a change that has left many experts deeply concerned.
"This recommendation around saturated fat has been one of the most consistent since the first edition of the dietary guidelines," said Cheryl Anderson, a board member of the AHA and professor at the University of California, San Diego, in comments to The Hill. Anderson admitted she was "shocked" by Kennedy’s potential move, adding, "My response was to stay calm and see what happens. There was no clear reasoning given for why or how this change would occur."
Anderson warned that increasing saturated fat consumption could have dire public health consequences. "The more saturated fat that’s consumed, the higher the risk for elevated cholesterol and heart problems," she said. Her concerns were echoed by other leading nutritionists and medical professionals, who point to a robust body of evidence linking saturated fats to heart disease—the leading cause of death in the United States.
Yet, not all researchers are entirely opposed to Kennedy’s stance. Ronald Krauss, a professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, has studied dietary fats for years. While Krauss acknowledges that saturated fats may not be as dangerous as once believed, he cautioned, "If [Kennedy] is actually going to go out and say we should be eating more saturated fat, I think that’s really the wrong message." Krauss’s research indicates that saturated fat is "relatively neutral"—not as harmful as previously thought, but certainly not as beneficial as Kennedy’s comments suggest. He stressed that the health impact depends greatly on what replaces saturated fats in the diet: "Replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats like olive oil can improve heart health. But replacing them with sugars and refined carbs can actually make things worse."
Both Krauss and Anderson agree on one point: Americans already eat too much saturated fat. The debate, they say, is about how best to guide the public toward healthier choices. "When you look at the American diet today, there’s too much saturated fat in it," Anderson said. "It’s not having a neutral effect on our population."
The rollout of Kennedy’s plan has also raised eyebrows for its apparent disregard of the established scientific process. Traditionally, updates to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are the result of years of research and review by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, with new editions released every five years. Anderson pointed out that the next set of guidelines, covering 2025 through 2030, has not yet been finalized. "It’s not normal for an HHS secretary to make such changes independently," she noted. Krauss added, "It appears that the official report is being overruled. If Kennedy pushes this through, it could immediately affect school lunches and military rations."
Supporters of Kennedy’s proposal see him as a maverick challenging outdated science and encouraging a return to "natural foods." They argue that foods like butter, cheese, milk, and red meat have been unfairly demonized for decades. Kennedy himself has said, "New dietary guidelines that are common sense, that stress the need to eat saturated fats of dairy, of good meat, of fresh meat and vegetables … when we release those, it will give everybody the rationale for driving it into our schools." He contends that refined carbohydrates and ultraprocessed foods—not saturated fats—are the primary culprits behind America’s obesity and inflammation epidemics.
But critics remain unconvinced. Medical professionals warn that Kennedy’s approach ignores the clear scientific consensus. "We consume too much added sugars, we consume too much saturated fat," said Eve Stoody, director of the USDA’s nutrition guidance and analysis division, in an interview with NewsNation. "We have a large nutrition problem, and I think it needs action across multiple fronts." The AHA has reiterated that saturated fats raise "bad" cholesterol levels and are closely linked to heart disease risk.
Some experts have gone so far as to accuse Kennedy of cherry-picking evidence to support a politically charged agenda. "The guy is looking at evidence in a very cherry-picking kind of way," Krauss said. "There are parts of his argument that sound reasonable, but they’re mixed with claims that simply aren’t supported by science." The unilateral nature of Kennedy’s announcement also troubles many in the field, who fear that bypassing the established review process could undermine public trust in national nutrition policy.
For now, the debate over saturated fats is more heated than ever. The proposed changes have the potential to reshape not only government food programs but also the broader public perception of what constitutes a healthy diet. Nutrition scientists are urging caution, calling on the administration to rely on longstanding evidence and the rigorous scientific process rather than political ideology or expediency.
As the nation awaits the official release of the new guidelines, one thing is clear: the conversation about what Americans should eat—and why—has never been more contentious. The stakes, experts say, are nothing less than the future health of the country.
