The Trump Administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report came out on September 9th to address the plight of America’s children’s health.

The report was specifically tasked with investigating the root causes of childhood chronic diseases and providing a blueprint for a healthier future. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. led a collaborative undertaking to guide this initiative to solve the severe health crisis in America.

MAHA points out the alarming numbers:

• 60% of Americans have at least one chronic disease,
• 25% of children suffer from allergies,
• 20% of children over 5 years are obese, and
• 40% of the entire population is either diabetic or prediabetic.

In 2023, U.S. health spending grew 4.4%, significantly outpacing a 2.5% growth in GDP. The surprising twist is that Americans still live shorter lives than people in other wealthy countries, despite pouring more money into the healthcare system.

What are the causes?

The MAHA report indicated four significant drivers for these diseases:

The food American children are eating. 

While the food is safe, it could be healthier by avoiding ultra-processed foods high in added sugars, chemical additives and saturated fats. Moreover, the food doesn’t contain essential micronutrients and dietary fibers.

The report takes a closer look at 70% of branded food products that are ultra-processed. The result of eating too much is a lack of nutrients, increases type 2 diabetes, increased obesity, and potential for inflammation.

American children’s exposure to environmental chemicals. 

Over 40,000 chemicals are registered for use which include pesticides, microplastics, and dioxins are found in the blood and urine of children and pregnant women.

American children’s pervasive technology use. 

Children have gone from active play-based childhood to a sedentary, technology driven lifestyle. The result of inactivity and social media is sadness and hopelessness, little friendships, and depression.

American children are highly medicated. 

It is not working. This is often driven by conflicts of interest in medical research, regulation, and practice.

What’s the solution to Make American Children Healthy Again?

The solution to these issues is to advance critical research, realign incentives and systems to drive health outcomes, including policy reforms, deregulation, and agency restructuring.  It also stresses an increase of public awareness through education campaigns and public-private sector collaboration.

This initiative was not just led by RFK, Jr. It has the footprint of four others in the Trump Administration:

Brooke L. Rollins, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

• Champions voluntary industry commitments; provides technical assistance for SNAP reform; focuses on strengthening the American food supply.

Lee Zeldin, EPA Administrator

• Leads efforts to address environmental exposures like banned pesticides; frames the commission’s work as a family-focused initiative.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, NIH Director

• Views the MAHA Report as a government-wide blueprint; advocates for new, gold-standard scientific research to address chronic disease.

Dr. Marty Makary, FDA Commissioner

• Believes health care has been “reactive” to chronic disease; provides a nuanced perspective on ultra-processed foods and specific ingredients.

The attention and awareness of the relationship between diet, sleep, exercise, and health is the key to longevity, not to mention going from a healthy childhood to a healthy adulthood.

Stay tuned as Dirt to Dinner releases more information on the key concerns highlighted in this report. We’ll also provide information and insights to improve our health and wellness in these key areas.