President Donald Trump’s Make America Healthy Again Commission has released its “MAHA” report detailing American children’s overall health, calling it a “crisis.” Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Health and Human Services secretary and commission leader behind the report, told reporters on Thursday, May 22, that the report represents the “most radical consensus” a U.S. government agency has ever reached about the country’s health.
The 68-page report, obtained by The New York Times, is titled “Making Our Children Healthy Again” and states there has been a rise in childhood chronic disease. The report identifies poor diet, chemical exposure, lack of physical activity and “overmedicalization” — when a child receives too many medications — as key drivers of deteriorating child health.
Chronic conditions affect nearly half of US children
According to the report, more than 40% of the almost 73 million children in the United States have at least one chronic health condition, such as asthma, allergies, obesity, autoimmune diseases or behavioral disorders.
“All studies show an alarming increase over time,” the report states.
More than 75% of Americans aged 17 to 24 are ineligible to serve in the U.S. military because of obesity, poor physical fitness or mental challenges. More than 1 in 5 American children over age six are obese — a more than 270% increase compared to the 1970s.
The report also provides additional statistics about American children’s health:
- Nearly 3.5 in every 1,000 children are diagnosed with diabetes.
- Autism spectrum disorder affects 1 in 31 children by the age of eight.
- Doctors diagnose more than 10% of kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
- Childhood cancer has risen 40% since 1975.
- Teenage depression rates doubled from 2009 to 2019.
- About 25% of American children suffer from allergies — seasonal, eczema and food allergies.
The report attributes some of its statistics to advances in diagnosis. A 2015 study from Denmark found that advancing diagnostic criteria and reporting requirements correlated with a 60% increase in autism diagnoses between 1980 and 1991.
Diet and nutrition cited as major issues
The MAHA Commission said most American children lack fruits and vegetables in their diets and instead consume ultra-processed foods high in added sugars, chemicals and saturated fats.
“Nearly 70% of an American child’s calories today comes from ultra-processed foods,” the report states.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, a commission member who participated in a phone call with reporters Thursday afternoon, stressed that America’s food supply is safe.
Chemical exposure, a rising concern
The report also claims that children absorb thousands of synthetic chemicals through the foods they eat, the water they drink, and the air they breathe. The exposure can lead to long-term health effects, including neurodevelopmental and endocrine effects.
“Pesticides, microplastics and dioxins are commonly found in the blood and urine of American children and pregnant women—some at alarming levels,” the report states.
Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator and a commission member, said American farmers rely on certain pesticides to grow food. He said if the government wants to add more rules or restrictions on these products, lawmakers should carefully consider the impact on farmers’ ability to produce food affordably.
The National Corn Growers Association released a statement urging the commission to include American farmers in future discussions.
“The Make America Healthy Again report is filled with fear-based rather than science-based information about pesticides. We are deeply troubled that claims of this magnitude are being made without any scientific basis or regard for a long history of EPA expert evaluations of these products,” the association said in a statement.
Screen time and physical inactivity highlighted
The MAHA report said American children are not participating in active lifestyles. Over the past 40 years, children in the U.S. have shifted from playing actively outside and engaging in physical activity to spending more time sitting and using technology like phones, tablets and computers.
This change has led to kids becoming less healthy, both physically and mentally. According to the report, children spend more time looking at screens, move and exercise less and face emotional and social challenges, such as feeling lonely, dealing with ongoing stress and not getting enough sleep. It also states that teens, on average, spend nine hours of non-school time on screens daily.
Overmedication
With the rise in chronic disease, doctors have been prescribing more medications. The commission says those medications could do more harm than good if misused.
According to the report, stimulant prescriptions for ADHD in the U.S. increased 250% from 2006 to 2016, and antidepressant prescription rates in teens increased by 1,400% between 1987 and 2014.
Commission calls for vaccine research and policy development
The commission recommends research initiatives and new studies on childhood vaccines to reverse the chronic childhood illness trend.
“The next stage of this process is to come up with policy recommendations for the president, and then we’ll spend the next four years implementing those policy recommendations,” Secretary Kennedy said during the phone call with reporters Thursday.
