'Make America healthy again': New RFK Jr report pushes child health policies; key takeaways

US “Make America healthy again” commission, set up by president Donald Trump, and led by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, released its second report on Tuesday, warning of rising chronic illness among American children.

“A lot of these 128 recommendations are the things that I’ve been dreaming about,” Kennedy said at the briefing, calling it a “historic collaboration” between health workers, teachers and industry.

The report centres on four main areas, boosting research, pushing policy reforms such as a new “vaccine framework,” raising public awareness about children’s health issues, and building partnerships with the private sector.

Key takeaways from the latest report:

• The commission recommended that US schools serve full-fat milk and promote healthier food options for children.
• It called for stricter federal oversight of prescription drug advertisements, especially those targeting children through social media and telehealth.
• It suggested setting a government definition for “ultra-processed food” and introducing restrictions on synthetic food dyes.
• The commission stopped short of recommending tighter controls on pesticides, instead promising improved review processes to maintain farmer access.

Many public health experts said the report offered some useful ideas for improving children’s health, but criticised it for lacking a clear plan of action.

“As they say, ‘Where’s the meat on this thing?’” said Dr Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American public health association, as quoted by NBC News. “If one of my graduate students handed me this, I’d send them back to do more work.”