MAHA Commission publishes report focusing on root causes of childhood chronic disease crisis

In late May, the Presidential Commission to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) recently released a highly anticipated “Make Our Children Healthy Again” assessment identifying key drivers behind the childhood chronic disease crisis. The 68-page document details the alarming rates of childhood chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. The report specifically targets a range of contributing factors—including poor diet from ultraprocessed foods (UPFs), accumulation of environmental toxins, insufficient physical activity, chronic stress, and overmedicalization.

The report cited pesticides as a contributor to childhood chronic diseases, pointing to independent science that identifies a range of pesticide-induced health hazards. Major agriculture groups criticized that assessment.

By examining chronic disease drivers, the assessment arms MAHA Commission stakeholders and partners with clear evidence that will support the development of policy interventions where they can deliver the greatest impact.

“We will end the childhood chronic disease crisis by attacking its root causes head-on—not just managing its symptoms,” said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “We will follow the truth wherever it leads, uphold rigorous science, and drive bold policies that put the health, development, and future of every child first. I’m grateful to President Trump for trusting me to lead this fight to root out corruption, restore scientific integrity, and reclaim the health of our children.”

The MAHA Commission was established in February by an executive order signed by President Trump, aiming to address the childhood chronic disease crisis.

The MAHA Commission report cited the following statistics:

• Today in the U.S., more than 1 in 5 children over 6 years old are obese. This is a more than 270% increase compared to the 1970s.
• Prevalence of pre-diabetes in teens is more than 1 in 4 teens, having more than doubled over the last 2 decades.
• Childhood cancer incidence has risen over nearly 40% since 1975, especially in children aged 0-19.
• Autism spectrum disorder impacts 1 in 31 children by age 8.
• Teenage depression rates nearly doubled from 2009 to 2019, and more than 1 in 4 teenage girls in 2022 reported a major depressive episode in the past year.
• Three million high school students seriously considered suicide in 2023.
• Between 1997 and 2018, childhood food‑allergy prevalence rose 88%.

However, according to a report by the New York Times, the MAHA Commission report cited statistics that didn’t exist. These included fictitious studies on direct-to-consumer drug advertising, mental illness, and medications prescribed for children with asthma.

Following publication of the MAHA Commission report the next steps will include supporting scientific research and developing a comprehensive strategy. The commission now has 82 days to produce the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy, based on the findings from the assessment.

The report identifies 10 areas for further research, including recommending several research initiatives to guide efforts to combat childhood chronic disease including evaluating self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) food ingredients; assessing the impact of whole-food, reduced-carb and low-UPF diets in children; and applying AI and machine learning to federal health and nutrition datasets for early detection of harmful exposures and childhood chronic disease trends.

The MAHA Commission plans to release its strategy in August 2025.

Advocacy groups praise, criticize MAHA report

Robert F. Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report received both praise and criticism from groups supportive of organic and non-GMO food and agriculture.

Farm Action president Angela Huffman said: “This report represents our hopes being met when we endorsed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services Secretary, because we felt he could have great influence on reforming our food and agriculture system to the benefit of farmers and everyone else. From taking a critical look at the dangerous impacts of food system consolidation to examining the ways farmers are being squeezed, the report rightly points out how federal and state policy has often been guided more by corporate profit than the public interest. Farm Action looks forward to working with the administration on a forthcoming strategy to address the report’s findings.”

George Kimbrell, legal director of Center for Food Safety said: “The need to reform our broken industrial agriculture system to build a better future for our food is paramount. The MAHA Commission recognizes that the overuse of pesticides in America’s industrial food system is a critical piece of the nation’s health crisis and acknowledges the now well-established scientific evidence of the dire harm these toxins are causing children, public health, and the environment.”

But Kimbrell said the report doesn’t go far enough: “However, the report falls woefully short of providing any next steps in how the government is going to stop this health epidemic from continuing. Much more is required—and urgently—in order to meaningfully address the twin public health and environmental crises we face. Protecting children’s health and building a healthy food system must trump pesticide corporations’ profits. To be meaningful, the findings of the report must translate into concrete actions that truly advance a healthier, more sustainable food system for America’s farmers and consumers.”

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) cited positives and shortcomings in the report. A letter from OTA co-CEOs Matthew Dillon and Tom Chapman said: “We are encouraged to see the MAHA Commission affirm what the organic community has long known: health begins on the farm. The report underscores how agriculture must be part of the solution. What we know is that organic farmers are already leading the way. Organic farmers grow food and fiber without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, antibiotics, or growth hormones, while protecting soil, water, and biodiversity. Unfortunately, the report’s recommendations do not yet address the urgent need for greater investment in organic. As the Commission advances its work, we will continue to advocate for solutions that unlock organic’s potential.”

Beyond Pesticides also criticized the lack of emphasis on organic food in the report, stating: “While organic food is mentioned in the report in the context of national dietary guidelines in France, it remains to be seen whether the Commission will recommend a meaningful expansion of funding and setting of targets to increase domestic production of organic agriculture.”

“Stunning report”

Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health Emerita at New York University, told AgFunderNews, “It’s a stunning report, a devastating critique of what American society has done to its kids.”

But Nestle also said “At the moment, this is just talk. The report is meant to be a call to action, but those actions will necessarily require taking on the food, agriculture, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries and I don’t see MAGA doing that. Indeed its budget, staff, and regulatory cuts are going the opposite way.”

Not unexpectedly, major agriculture groups condemned the MAHA Commission report. The National Corn Growers Association released a statement saying the report denigrates the safety of key pesticides used by corn growers and other farmers, stating, “The Make America Healthy Again Report is filled with fear-based rather than science-based information about pesticides. We are deeply troubled that claims of this magnitude are being made without any scientific basis or regard for a long history of EPA expert evaluations of these products.”

Similarly, the American Soybean Association released a statement arguing that the “brazenly unscientific” report could prompt further litigation and undermine confidence in America’s food system.

Additional sources: Farm Action, Center for Food Safety,

Organic Trade Association, Beyond Pesticides, AgFunderNews