Released earlier this week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s much-anticipated report on U.S. children largely mirrors his beliefs. It blames processed food, prescription drugs and vaccines for chronic childhood diseases, and calls for more exercise and healthier food to improve their health.
But critics say the so-called “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, report is silent about longstanding healthcare disparities between white and Black children, and ignores the biggest public health threat to Black girls and boys: gun violence.
In fact, several physicians and public health experts said Kennedy’s vague plan — coupled with the White House’s massive budget cuts to the nation’s public health agencies and the related personnel exodus — could actually worsen the health of the nation’s children.
Short On Specifics
The report “lacks details on how the Administration plans to address those issues and omits key drivers that harm children’s health, including gun violence and environmental hazards,” Dr. Susan J. Kressly, the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in a statement.
Asked about rising gun deaths in children during a briefing, Kennedy called it “a complex question.” He repeated his belief that psychiatric drugs and video games could be factors for gun violence, although there is little scientific evidence for that conclusion.
Presented as a roadmap for policymakers, the MAHA report covers four key areas: investing more in research; health policy reforms including a new “vaccine framework”; publicizing health concerns that affect children; and partnerships with the private sector. It does not mention factors widely considered imminent threats to childhood health, like food insecurity or tobacco and vaping use.
At the same time, some of the goals in the report contradict Trump administration priorities. For example, Kennedy’s report calls for investigating the links between autism and vaccines, but the National Institutes of Health — which is overseen by HHS and would be assigned to conduct the investigations — is facing a budget cut of roughly 40%.
Overlooks the Number One Killer of Children
But perhaps the most glaring oversight in the MAHA report is its failure to address the scourge of gun violence, a chronic problem in Black communities.
Since 2020, gunfire has been the leading cause of death among all U.S. children and teens. The problem has been especially acute for Black children: between 2013 and 2020, the risk of death from gun violence increased by 108% among Black youth.
Further underscoring the point: firearms are the number one killer of children in the U.S. In 2023, Black boys and men ages 15 to 24 died more often from gunshot wounds than from the next 15 leading causes of deaths combined.
Instead, the so-called “MAHA report” directs public health and environmental agencies to investigate vaccine injuries, prescription drug use and the causes of autism.
The report also identifies ultra-processed foods, fluoridated water, and the overuse of prescription drugs, including vaccines, as health hazards for children.
Known for his anti-vaccine stance and suspicion of the pharmaceutical industry, Kennedy has consistently linked medication and behavior in Black children, especially boys. The nation’s top health official also has said that Black people may need to be on a different vaccine schedule than whites, and that Black children on ADHD drugs may need to be “reparented.”
Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement that Kennedy’s diagnosis is partly right: chronic childhood diseases are major drivers of poor health and high healthcare costs. But ”neither [Kennedy’s] record as health secretary nor most of the policies outlined in this report inspire confidence that he is the right person to solve this problem.”
Kennedy “talks frequently about making our nation’s food supply more nutritious but championed legislation that will kick millions off SNAP and make it harder for families to afford healthy meals,” Besser said. “Time and again, his record simply does not match his rhetoric. This report is no different.”
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics said in a statement it believes Kennedy has ignored “systemic” problems that drive chronic disease. Instead, the organization said, the HHS secretary has picked “one-off” targets that won’t move the needle on childhood health. .
“The Academy’s recently released Nutrition Fact Check, which summarizes the research, indicates that children’s health will not be meaningfully improved by isolated dietary changes such as the removal of food dyes and seed oils,” according to the statement.
Eric Mitchell, president of the Alliance to End Hunger agreed:
“We agree that children need healthy food to thrive in school, but the Administration’s recent cancellation of a $1 billion program to provide local farm produce to schools and food banks pushes that goal further away,” he said in a statement.
