Interdisciplinary and multisector partnerships are key to achieving the dietary guidelines recommendations for whole grain consumption

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) is a foundation of nutrition and food policy in the United States. They dictate the quality of school and other institutional meal programs funded by federal dollars and the low-cost food plan that meets the DGAs is at the core of SNAP benefit calculations. The 2020-2025 DGAs recommended that half of all grains consumed are whole grains. The Scientific Advisory Committee Report that provides input into the next (2025-2030) DGAs reiterates the importance of this recommendation to improve population health and reduce the prevalence of diet-related chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes, heart disease, stroke). Yet most Americans are consuming well-below these recommended amounts. Increasing intakes of whole grains requires new collaborations to build robust linkages across the value chain. This means crop, soil, and food scientists working on the development of nutritious varieties and healthy food products need to be working together with health and social science researchers focused on improving population health, nutrition, and diet quality. 

This session will include four presentations from an interdisciplinary, multisectoral partnership that is working to create more nutritious, affordable, and accessible whole grain-based foods. Through a pipeline strategy, the collaboration addresses gaps in current knowledge and traces the flow of nutrients from agricultural systems and food production to human consumption, culminating in the synthesis of more sustainable agricultural management strategies and healthy and affordable food products to meet the needs of diverse individuals and communities. The session will concentrate on the social science and outreach work that focuses on developing policy guidance on the most effective strategies to increase whole grain consumption.

Increasing consumption of whole grains stands to be transformative in reducing the high burden of diet-related chronic diseases among Americans. These diseases, including Type II diabetes and heart disease, are driven in part by diets low in fiber and too high in the saturated fats that are present in animal sources of protein, as well as by the high consumption of calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods often containing substantial proportions of refined grains (e.g., packaged pastries, chips). Whole grains have several health-promoting attributes including that they are rich in vitamins and minerals, contain protein and healthy fats, and are good sources of dietary fiber which increases satiety (reducing overall food intakes) and improves gastrointestinal and cardiovascular health. Increasing demand for whole grains is a robust strategy to achieve health and nutrition policy goals and stands to be difficult because taste preferences are hard to change but also, once achieved, resilient to many types of shifts and shocks for the same reason. This session will focus on evidence from interdisciplinary work, including outreach and extension, focused on shifting preferences towards whole grains and increasing consumption.

Policy Area

• Health Policy

Secondary Policy Area

• Poverty and Income Policy

Chair

• Vicki A McCracken, Washington State University

Discussant

• Nnenna Ogbonnaya-Orji, University of Washington

Organizer

• Kate Schneider Lecy, Arizona State University

Individual Presentations

• Preferences and perceptions of whole grain foods - Presenting Author: Andrew Thorne-Lyman, Johns Hopkins University

• Household purchasing of barley, buckwheat and quinoa by WIC and SNAP participation - Presenting Author: Namrata Sanjeevi, Washington State University

• Are Americans willing to pay for healthy and sustainable foods? Nationally representative choice experiment results - Presenting Author: Kate Schneider Lecy, Arizona State University

• Closing the science-policy-action gap through outreach and community engagement for all ages - Presenting Author: Janine Sanguine, Washington State University