Trump’s Make America Healthy Again Commission: The Same Old Ideas in a New Package?

Shortly after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took office as the Secretary of Health and Human Services, President Trump signed an executive order to establish the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission. This body aims to tackle the underlying causes of what has been described as America’s health crisis, with an emphasis on childhood health and chronic diseases. Despite the commission’s stated purposes, much of the content of the executive order revisits themes explored in past initiatives by previous administrations.

The Commission’s primary focus will be on childhood health and will address concerns about the overuse of medications and pesticides, pointing toward potential corporate influences on public health. According to the executive order, the Commission aims to redirect the nation’s focus on significantly lowering chronic disease rates and promoting healthier diets and lifestyles. Initially, it will review existing data on childhood health to evaluate relevant programs.

Kennedy’s expressed desire for Americans to enhance their physical activity and nutrition aligns with longstanding concerns in public health discourse but doesn’t introduce fundamentally new ideas. Historical data indicates that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has long invested in addressing chronic diseases, often allocating more funds to this area than to infectious diseases, which contrasts Kennedy’s claims about funding disparities.

Previous efforts to address the chronic disease epidemic span back decades, including initiatives like the seven-year Commission on Chronic Illness in the mid-20th century. The dietary recommendations issued by the government since the Carter administration have aimed at promoting health but faced numerous political fluctuations, particularly during Trump’s previous term, where efforts to update nutritional guidelines were minimized.

The administration also rolled back several healthier school lunch regulations and funding for food assistance programs instated during Obama’s administration. The subsequent Biden administration aimed to reverse some of these changes, reinstating health-focused policies.

As Trump embarks on his second term, the formation of the MAHA Commission suggests a pivot toward addressing nutritional issues, yet many of its goals and methods closely mirror ongoing discussions and initiatives in federal health policy that have persisted for decades. The question remains whether this initiative will yield innovative solutions or simply repackage existing strategies under new branding.

Read the Executive Order Here
Learn About Dietary Guidelines History
Explore the "Let’s Move" Campaign
Read the GAO Report on Nutrition and Exercise
National Strategy for Hunger, Nutrition, and Health

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