5 Things to Know: The MAHA Report

More than 40% of U.S. children and adolescents have at least one chronic health condition, such as asthma, allergies, obesity, and behavioral or learning challenges. In a recent 73-page report, the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission confronted the growing crisis, spotlighting underlying challenges like poor diet, environmental exposures, increased screen time, and a lack of physical activity.

The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) welcomes this focus and emphasis on prevention. But to truly maximize the moment and achieve long-term improvements, recommended solutions must be rooted in science and facts, representativeness, and real-world feasibility.

Below are five key takeaways from the MAHA Report — along with PFCD’s perspective on where it hit the mark and where elaboration or clarification is needed.

1.      Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs) Pose Significant Challenges  

The report calls out poor diet — particularly the prevalence of UPFs in American diets — as a leading driver in pediatric chronic illness. It notes that nearly 70% of children's calories come from UPFs, which are heavily processed products linked to obesity, diabetes, and metabolic dysfunction. 

PFCD agrees that improving the American diet across all ages presents a significant opportunity to improve health.

But the report oversimplifies the problem, ignoring key drivers like food affordability and access exacerbated by aggressive advertising. To shift eating habits at scale, policymakers must confront food deserts, invest in nutrition education, and make healthy options accessible and affordable for all families.

Recommendations as to the types of food are also important, as science supports plant-based diets and the consumption of whole foods.

2.      Environmental Chemical Exposure Is a Growing Concern 

Concern over environmental toxins such as PFAS, phthalates, microplastics, and certain food additives was strongly iterated in the report. The MAHA Commission called for stricter research and regulatory action to reduce exposure.

PFCD agrees that environmental health plays a key role in chronic disease prevention. A narrow focus on individual chemicals, however, risks missing systemic issues that affect vulnerable communities most.

Broader action is needed — from addressing pollution in marginalized neighborhoods to improving housing and infrastructure. Environmental factors must be part of the chronic disease conversation.

3.      Physical Inactivity and Chronic Stress Are Key Factors 

The Commission identified increased screen time, sedentary behavior, and chronic stress as core contributors to the decline in children’s physical and mental health.

We agree, these are serious concerns. But without tackling social determinants like unsafe neighborhoods, poverty, family stress, and a lack of recreational infrastructure, the report’s recommendations fall flat. Real solutions require in-depth analysis into the core causes of these behavioral changes. That way, strategic investment in schools, communities, and public spaces that support movement, connection, and resilience can be executed.

4.      Medical Treatment and Prescription Drug Use Are a Symptom, Not the Problem

Prevention is paramount when it comes to health improvement, but preventive lifestyle interventions can and should coexist with medical interventions when needed to reduce health risks, treat disease, and prevent complications. The report warns of growing reliance on medications for children and adolescents, including antidepressants, antipsychotics, GLP-1s for obesity, and antibiotics, while questioning the safety and necessity of some treatments. Appropriate medication use is important in the fight against chronic illness, including risk reduction and complication prevention.

The report’s treatment of topics like vaccines and mental health threatens to undermine proven and medically appropriate interventions that are vital to prevent and manage chronic disease. The report, for example, makes misleading assertions about the childhood vaccine schedule and FDA standards and approvals. Vaccines offer protection against a host of high risk, high impact infectious diseases and as such are foundational to the health of America’s children.

Rather than casting unfounded aspersions against health care providers, medical journals, and both public and private scientific and medical experts, we must focus on opportunities to prevent mental illness and reduce stressors while expanding access to diagnosis and treatment for those suffering in order to make a difference. Stigma plays an outsized barrier to seeking care, particularly for adolescents. Criticizing parents and health care providers that seek and provide medical treatment will only exacerbate those issues instead of providing necessary supports to improve health outcomes.

5.      The Report Calls for a National Strategy - But Lacks Evidence and Nuance

The Commission proposes a national strategy by August and outlines 10 areas for further research, covering everything from reduced-UPF diets to vaccine safety.

Research must be unbiased, rigorous, transparent, replicable, and subject to peer review. The report omits several critical issues tied to childhood chronic disease, such as maternal health, gun violence, and substance use, while also citing non-nationally representative studies. Reputable scientific inquiry to identify policy solutions requires drawing conclusions from the evaluation of accurate peer-reviewed data. A meaningful national strategy must reflect the full spectrum of health determinants, grounded in the best available facts and analysis led by the data instead of a search for data points to support predetermined conclusions.

The MAHA Report puts an urgent issue front and center: the health of America’s children is at risk. To truly address this crisis, urgency cannot come at the expense of broad input from medical, scientific, patient, and consumer communities. The lack of a public comment on the MAHA Assessment Report limited its accuracy and viability as a rallying cry for change.

We strongly urge the Administration to allow for public review and comment on the MAHA Strategy Report that will follow.

PFCD believes lasting progress demands a strategy that aligns science, policy, and lived experience. We’re committed to working with our partners, policymakers, and health and community advocates to ensure that any national strategy to address childhood chronic disease reflects both the complexity and opportunity of building a healthier future for all children.