Report · Health

Just one in three Americans trust the new dietary guidelines

Reading

In a Verasight survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted March 6 to 16, 2026, 35% of Americans said they trust that the recommendations in the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans are based on sound scientific evidence somewhat or a great deal. Including 25% who said somewhat and 10% who said a great deal.

About a quarter said they trust the recommendations a little (24%), and 26% said they do not trust them at all. Another 15% said they were not sure.

Topline

response scale

Topline scale

Just 35% of Americans trust the new dietary guidelines somewhat or more.

How much do you trust that the recommendations in the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans are based on sound scientific evidence?

  • Not at all 26.1%
  • Somewhat 24.6%
  • A little 24.4%
  • Not sure 14.6%
  • A great deal 10.2%

2026 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.5%

Module 5: Health, Community, & Personal Values

View source

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2026-03-06 → 2026-03-16
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.5%
Module
Module 5: Health, Community, & Personal Values

Source

Citation

Verasight Client Omnibus Survey #2026-044, fielded March 6-16, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.5%.

https://reports.verasight.io/reports/omnibus-2026-044#q-5-13

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. Each wave's specific field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that wave's report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
Every wave is published as a standalone report at verasight.io/reports with full instrument and methodology.
Transparency
AAPOR transparency standards.

Wave-specific methodology, full weighting variable lists, and verbatim instrument text live in each report at verasight.io/reports.