PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Nutrition and Sustainable Diets
Dairy Foods Support Healthy Dietary Patterns and Nutrition Security in the United States: A Nutrient Adequacy and Affordability Perspective
Provisionally accepted
Allison L Unger1*
Kevin B Comerford2,3
Katie Brown1Kuda Lamin-Bangura1Michelle Slimko1
Christopher J Cifelli1- 1National Dairy Council (NDC), Rosemont, United States
- 2California Dairy Research Foundation, Davis, United States
- 3OMNI Nutrition Science, Davis, United States
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The United States is currently challenged by high rates of diet-related disease and nutrition insecurity especially among vulnerable American populations, such as children and adolescents, older adults and those who are pregnant or lactating. This paper aims to explore the important role of dairy foods in supporting nutrient adequacy and nutrition security for all AmericansU.S. populations. The scientific evidence indicates that daily consumption of dairy foods is a foundational component of healthy eating patterns for Americansin the U.S. due to dairy foods' complex nutrient package and cost-effective contributions of multiple shortfall nutrients (i.e., calcium, vitamin D, potassium). Dairy foods also provide an array of bioactive compounds and beneficial microorganisms that can support human health and well-being. Therefore, it is a major public health concern that most Americans populations in the U.S. fall short of dairy food recommendations, putting them at increased risk for nutrient inadequacies and diet-related diseases. Continued research efforts, public health initiatives and communication strategies focused on the benefits of affordable nutrient-dense foods, such as dairy foods like milk, yogurt and cheese, can help support healthy dietary patterns and nutrition security for Americans U.S. populations of all backgrounds and life stages.
Keywords: accessibility, Chronic Disease, Food-based dietary guidelines, Food security, Malnutrition, Public Health, Lactose Intolerance
Received: 18 Jul 2025; Accepted: 10 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Unger, Comerford, Brown, Lamin-Bangura, Slimko and Cifelli. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Allison L Unger, allison.unger@dairy.org
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.