Dietary Guidelines Meet NOVA: Developing a Menu for A Healthy Dietary Pattern Using Ultra-Processed Foods

Background: A proposed topic for the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) Scientific Advisory Committee to address is the relationship between dietary patterns with ultra-processed foods (UPF) and body composition and weight status. Implementing the NOVA system, the most commonly applied framework for determining whether a food is ultra-processed, in dietary guidance could omit several nutrient-dense foods from recommended healthy diets in the DGA.Objective: The purpose of this proof-of-concept study was to determine the feasibility of building a menu that aligns with recommendations for a healthy dietary pattern from the 2020 DGA and includes =80% kcal from UPF as defined by NOVA.Design: To accomplish this objective, we first developed a list of foods that fit NOVA criteria for UPF, fit within dietary patterns in the 2020 DGA, and are commonly consumed by Americans. We then used these foods to develop a 7-d, 2000 kcal menu modeled on MyPyramid sample menus and assessed this menu for nutrient content as well as for diet quality using the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015).Results: In the ultra-processed DGA menu that was created, 91% of kcal were from UPF, or NOVA category 4. The HEI-2015 score was 86 out of a possible 100 points. This sample menu did not achieve a perfect score due primarily to excess sodium and an insufficient amount of whole grains. This menu provided adequate amounts of all macro-and micronutrients except vitamin D, vitamin E, and choline.Conclusions: Healthy dietary patterns can include most of their energy from UPF, still receive a high diet quality score, and contain adequate amounts of most macro-and micronutrients.

Automated summary

The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of creating a menu that aligns with recommendations for a healthy dietary pattern, while including 80% of calories from ultra-processed foods as defined by the NOVA system. The results showed that although this menu did not achieve a perfect score, it still provided adequate nutrition and received a high diet quality score.