The Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission released a sobering report this week. It reveals what it calls an urgent national crisis: American children are sicker than ever, and systemic change is needed to reverse decades of failed health policies.
Chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the commission blamed skyrocketing rates of chronic disease in children on a dangerous mix of ultra-processed foods, environmental toxins, rampant overmedication, and government inaction.
The 91-page report outlines 10 major recommendations, including funding new long-term trials comparing diets, overhauling how vaccines and pediatric medications are monitored, and using artificial intelligence to track disease trends.
“Our kids are the sickest kids in the world,” Kennedy told reporters Thursday. “America will begin reversing the childhood chronic disease crisis during this administration by getting to the truth of why we are getting sick.”
Among the most alarming statistics cited:
- Childhood cancer is up 40% since 1975.
- One in 31 children is diagnosed with autism by age 8.
- More than one in five children over the age of 6 is obese.
- Over 40% of American children have at least one chronic health condition.
- Three-quarters of young Americans are unfit for military service, primarily due to obesity and other preventable issues.
The report cites a surge in prescription drug use as a major concern. ADHD medications increased by 250% from 2006 to 2016, antidepressant prescriptions for children jumped 1,400% since the late ’80s, and antipsychotic use grew 800% between 1993 and 2009. Kennedy said this reflects a failed system of overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
“We now have the most obese, depressed, disabled, medicated population in the history of the world,” said Food and Drug Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary. “This marks a grand pivot from a system that is entirely reactionary to one that will now be proactive.”
While the commission explained that the U.S. food system is “safe,” it also warned that it could be much healthier. It pointed to a need to move away from chemical-laden ultra-processed foods toward whole foods from American farmers.
The report stopped short of banning controversial chemicals like glyphosate, but acknowledged mounting scientific concerns and called for more research into environmental and pharmaceutical exposures.
The report also took aim at fluoride in drinking water, citing new research linking excessive exposure to lower IQ levels in children. The EPA is currently reviewing its fluoride standards based on this data.
Critics, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, have pushed back, accusing the report of creating “fear” about farming practices. But Kennedy assured lawmakers that the administration does not plan to jeopardize American agriculture. “We are not going to do anything to jeopardize that business model,” he told a Senate panel.
President Donald Trump established the MAHA Commission in February to study the causes of the childhood disease crisis and deliver policy solutions. This report is the commission’s first product. A second report, detailing specific federal actions, is due at the end of August.
Kennedy said the MAHA report represents an “invitation” to the public to engage in a complex but necessary conversation about health, science, and national resilience. “Weak economies kill people,” he said. “A strong economy is a social determinant of public health.”