The President’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., released a report entitled Make Our Children Healthy Again: Assessment on May 22. The report details ultra-processed foods, environmental chemicals, physical activity and pervasive technology use, and childhood overmedication as explanations for American children’s declining health and chronic conditions. It particularly seeks explanations for growing rates of diagnoses including childhood obesity, diabetes, autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), cancer, allergies, and autoimmune disorders. While the report recommends areas of research, there are no specific policy recommendations directly affecting hospitals.
MAHA was established by executive order in February to study childhood chronic conditions. It includes leaders, or their designees, from major federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protection Agency, National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, and others. This report fulfills a requirement to issue an assessment on childhood chronic conditions within 100 days of the commission’s establishment.
Contact Director of Policy Rob Nelb, MPH, at rnelb@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
Author