RFK Jr.: MAHA Report a ‘Clarion Call’ to End the Chronic Disease Epidemic

Ultraprocessed foods, environmental toxins, the childhood vaccination schedule, overmedicalization, a sedentary lifestyle and corporate lobbying are fueling the chronic disease epidemic in the U.S., particularly among kids, according to a new report by the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission.

The “landmark” 73-page report, “Make Our Children Healthy Again,” was presented today at the White House by President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr., key members of the Trump administration and health freedom activists from the MAHA movement.

“Today’s children are the sickest generation in American history in terms of chronic disease, and these preventable trends continue to worsen each year, posing a threat to our nation’s health, economy, and military readiness,” the report states, noting that over 40% of U.S. children have at least one chronic health condition.

According to the report, 1 in 31 children are diagnosed with autism by age 8, childhood cancer rates have increased by 40% since 1975 and more than 1 in 5 children over age 6 are obese.

Today’s children are likely to have shorter lifespans than their parents — despite the U.S. spending more than other wealthy nations on healthcare.

Trump cited several of these figures during his Oval Office speech today. “There’s something wrong, and we will not stop until we defeat the chronic disease epidemic in America,” Trump said. “We’re going to get it done for the first time ever.”

Kennedy thanked Trump for his support.

“We’ve been waiting for a president who would stand up and speak on behalf of the health of the American people and say there is no difference between good economic policy, good environmental policy, good public health policy and good industrial policy,” Kennedy said. “We can have all of them.”

Kennedy told Reuters the report is a “clarion call to do something with utmost urgency” to end the “alarming” increase in chronic conditions.

Mary Holland, CEO of Children’s Health Defense (CHD), was at the Oval Office event, calling it “tremendously inspiring” and “historic.”

“It looks like the whole government is really now engaged to reverse the chronic health disease epidemic among American children. CHD was Secretary Kennedy’s launching pad. We have much to be proud of, but there’s much work ahead,” Holland said.

According to the report, the federal government will launch “a coordinated transformation of our food, health, and scientific systems” based on its findings.

Sayer Ji, co-founder of Stand for Health Freedom, also attended the Oval Office event. He said the report “affirms everything many of us have felt in our bones: that food, movement, sleep and love are the true foundations of health — not pharmaceuticals, not digital escapes and not toxic convenience.”

RFK Jr.: Today’s report a ‘diagnosis, the prescription comes in 100 days’

The report — an outcome of a February executive order by Trump establishing the MAHA Commission — is “the first step of the administration’s plan” to address the chronic disease epidemic, CNN reported.

Trump’s executive order called for the delivery of an initial assessment of the drivers of “the growing health crisis in America” within 100 days. The MAHA Commission will follow that assessment, today’s report, with a strategy for fighting the chronic disease epidemic, which is expected to be released in August.

Kennedy said during a press call earlier today that the report “is really … a diagnosis, the prescription comes in 100 days.”

Speaking at the White House, Kennedy called the report “a call to action for common sense.”

Trump applauded the MAHA movement for its role in raising awareness of the chronic disease epidemic. “We’ve built an unstoppable coalition of moms and dads, doctors and young people and citizens of all backgrounds who have come together to protect our children,” Trump said.

In an interview today on “The Ross Kaminsky Show,” Holland also credited the MAHA movement’s efforts.

“It’s really not a partisan movement,” Holland said. “It’s really about getting back to being healthy. More than half of all Americans and American children are sick. We want to get to a place where that’s no longer the case — and it’s doable.”

A poll conducted earlier this month by the Center for Excellence in Polling and commissioned by the Foundation for Government Accountability found broad public support for the MAHA agenda, USA Today reported.

The poll found that 88% of respondents believe pharmaceutical companies should be held financially liable for vaccine or medication harm, while 50% of respondents supported the right of parents to opt out of school-required vaccines.

According to USA Today, “On 22 out of the 23 questions, at least 68% of the voters agreed on the MAHA-aligned agenda.”

Report addresses ‘concerns’ about vaccines’ role in chronic disease epidemic

The report highlights the childhood immunization schedule in the U.S. as a possible contributor to chronic illness, noting that the number of vaccines U.S. children are recommended to receive is higher than in most European countries.

“Many [parents] have concerns about the appropriate use of vaccines and their possible role in the growing childhood chronic disease crisis,” the report states.

The report calls for further research into the childhood vaccination schedule, including placebo-controlled studies of the vaccines to determine potential connections between the vaccines, chronic diseases and other adverse events.

In recent weeks, U.S. public health agencies announced they will study a possible link between vaccines and autism, using data from public and private databases, and that a sub-agency focused on vaccine injuries will be established at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that HHS plans to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women, children and teens. Last month, HHS announced that all new vaccines will have to be tested against a placebo before they can be approved.

“We were not waiting for this report to come out to begin researching the crises, including the autism crisis,” Kennedy said during today’s press call.

Report addresses ultraprocessed foods, artificial dyes, additives in infant formula

Another focus of the report was ultraprocessed food. According to the report, U.S. children consume excessive amounts of ultraprocessed grains, sugars and fats, which contribute to childhood obesity, higher diabetes rates, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and other chronic illnesses.

The report also says that other ingredients, including artificial dyes, preservatives and artificial sweeteners, are likely contributing to the chronic disease epidemic.

Last month, HHS announced it would phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from U.S. foods and medications, while earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it would tighten its review process for chemical additives in food.

The report also cites infant formula as a “notable example of concern around food additives.” In March, HHS and the FDA launched “Operation Stork Speed” — a plan for more testing and increased scrutiny of the ingredients in baby formula.

The report calls for independent studies on food ingredients, including those “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS), which are subject to limited FDA oversight.

Children ‘are highly medicated — and it’s not working’

American children “are highly medicated — and it’s not working,” the report stated, citing the overprescription of pharmaceutical products as an example of “misaligned incentives” in the U.S. healthcare system.

The report cited data showing that the number of prescriptions issued to children has sharply increased in recent years  — including a 250% increase in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) prescriptions between 2006 and 2016 and a 1,400% increase in antidepressant prescriptions between 1987 and 2014, despite evidence that such increases “did not improve outcomes long-term.”

“These time trends significantly outpace more moderate increases seen in other developed countries,” the report stated.

The report also highlighted the role of environmental toxins, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals,” in exacerbating the epidemic of chronic illness. PFAS builds up in the human body over time, posing a risk of cancer and other serious illnesses.

The report also named fluoride as another toxin contributing to the epidemic, noting a “statistically significant association between exposure to fluoride above recommended levels and reduced IQ levels in children.”

Utah and Florida recently banned the use of fluoride in their public water supplies. Earlier this month, the FDA said it is “initiating action” to remove children’s concentrated ingestible fluoride prescription drug products from the market.

According to the report, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing data on fluoride that may lead to “revisions to the federal drinking water standard.”

Other factors contributing to worsening health outcomes in children cited by the report include reduced physical activity and excessive screentime, including their adverse impacts on mental health.

The report also addressed the negative impacts of lobbying, advertising and “corporate capture” of the media and scientific journals by the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

“Corporations have really gotten too much influence, and there’s not been enough government regulation where the regulators are really in charge. So, that’s one of the things they’re going to look at,” Holland told Kaminsky.

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Amid ‘pushback’ from Big Ag, report cites herbicides for health risks

One of the report’s more contentious segments concerns the use of pesticides and herbicides in farming. The report specifically cites two herbicides — glyphosate and atrazine — that are linked to cancer, reproductive disorders and other conditions.

However, the report stopped short of calling for specific regulatory changes or restrictions on such products at this time. Instead, the report says an updated assessment will be released next year.

According to The New York Times, there was “pushback” in recent days from agricultural industry representatives and some Republican lawmakers in response to rumors that the report would adopt a hard line on the use of products like glyphosate.

In testimony on Tuesday before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Kennedy faced questions from Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) about the possibility this week’s report would suggest glyphosate and similar products are unsafe, on the basis that this could cause significant harm to the agriculture industry.

“I hope there is nothing in the MAHA report that jeopardizes the food supply or the livelihood of farmers,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told the Senate on Wednesday.

Last month, 79 Republicans sent a letter to Kennedy expressing similar concerns, as did four of the largest U.S. farm organizations in a joint statement this week. But in a letter sent to Kennedy today, 360 MAHA supporters called for more stringent regulations of pesticides and herbicides.

Watch today’s MAHA Commission event at the White House: