Without a doubt, this has been a whirlwind summer of policy victories for the Trump administration. From the reconciliation bill to the proposed rescinding of the Endangerment Finding to crafting major trade deals with several nations, it has been difficult to keep pace with all the administration’s wins.
Strangely, the administration’s push to make American children healthy again has received little fanfare and even less attention by the media. Sadly, the modern mainstream media tend to downplay anything Trump supports that is also widely supported by Americans.
However, it is difficult to deny that President Trump and his administration are concerned about the physical and mental health of millions of American kids. What’s more, it is nearly impossible to deny that these concerns are not warranted.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “From 2017 to March 2020, the prevalence of obesity among U.S. children and adolescents was 19.7%. This means that approximately 14.7 million U.S. youths aged 2–19 years have obesity.”
Likewise, “Type 2 diabetes (T2D) prevalence in the 10‐ to 19‐year‐old population has doubled over the past two decades in the United States,” a 2023 report found.
“The numbers of youth with T1D and T2D in 2017 were 185,000 and 28,000, respectively, and, based on these increasing prevalence and incidence rates, the numbers are projected to be 335,000 youth with T1D and 220,000 with T2D in 2060, increases of 65% and 673%, respectively,” the report warns.
Along with deteriorating physical health, too many American children are also suffering from a decline in mental health.
The CDC notes, “Among adolescents, mental health, substance use, and suicide are concerns. Data obtained directly from youth can tell us more about the scope of these problems.”
Consider:
Among U.S. high school students in 2023: “40% reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year,” “20% reported seriously considering attempting suicide in the past year,” “16% reported making a suicide plan in the past year,” and “9% reporting attempting suicide in the past year.”
As a former high school teacher, those statistics make me very sad.
At the same time, I am not all that surprised to see that American teenagers are becoming fat and depressed.
When I was teaching at a public high school about a decade ago, just as smartphones and social media were being introduced, I was alarmed as I saw teenagers become absolutely addicted to their phones. One student even snuck his phone up his sweatshirt sleeve during the ACT test, not to cheat, but to make sure he could check his text messages and monitor social media.
It also was disturbing to work lunch duty/hallway police, watching so many students gulp down giant sodas and eat highly processed junk food. For most students, a Pop-Tart and soda was a typical breakfast. No wonder so many struggled to stay awake during the day or get a good night of sleep.
The good news is that the pendulum seems to be swinging the other way, finally. Over the past year or so, millions of concerned moms have formed the grass-roots movement known as “make America healthy again.”
Throughout his 2024 campaign, Trump pledged to focus on the health of America’s children.
A while ago, the Trump administration released a detailed report that “identifies four potential drivers behind the rise in childhood chronic disease that present the clearest opportunities for progress.”
They are: “the shift to ultra-processed foods,” “the cumulative load of chemicals in our environment,” “the crisis of childhood behavior in the digital age,” and “the overmedicalization of our kids.”
As the report notes, the decline of physical activity coupled with the rapid rise of screen addiction has had profound effects on America’s youth. “American children are experiencing unprecedented levels of inactivity, screen use, sleep deprivation, and chronic stress. These factors significantly contribute to the rise in chronic diseases and mental health challenges.”
Make no mistake, the Trump administration is charging ahead full speed with the MAHA message. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. has made this a central platform over the past several months. From eliminating potentially harmful food dyes and other additives, RFK is doing what he can to ensure that our food is safe.
On the physical activity side of things, I am very glad to see President Trump officially reestablish the Presidential Fitness Test.
As a child of the 1990s, the Presidential Fitness Test was sort of a big thing. In middle school, we all did it. My gym teacher would post all our statistics so we could keep track during the process. Meeting the requirements was very difficult. Only a few of us did it. But that made it special.
Unsurprisingly, President Barack Obama, in his quest to ensure equity, terminated the Presidential Fitness Test. Obama said he wanted to “move away from recognizing athletic performance.” Trump, on the other hand, calls it a “wonderful tradition.”
In the small world category, interestingly, RFK’s uncle, President John Kennedy, was the creator of the Presidential Fitness Test.
In 1963, JFK wrote, “The fitness of our people is one of the foundation stones of our national greatness. It will help determine our capacity to respond to the many challenges of this time of change and conflict. But it has an even deeper significance. For fitness is not something that can be imposed by a government or by laws. It will not be produced by coercion or exhortation from above. It depends upon the will and the energy of those thousands of local and private groups that make up the fabric of our society. And it depends, preeminently, on the individual.”
Those are wise words. What’s more, it sounds a lot like the MAHA message.
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.
Editor's Note: The Trump administration is leading efforts to Make America Healthy Again.
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