Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the Trump administration’s nutrition agenda is tied to a 2.5% drop in obesity rates and warned that chronic disease, ultra-processed foods and childhood obesity are driving major health, economic and national security costs.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said this week that U.S. obesity rates have declined for the first time in 50 years, crediting the Trump administration’s health and nutrition policies for what he described as an early sign of progress against chronic disease.
Speaking at an event in Charlotte, Kennedy said obesity rates have fallen 2.5% since President Donald Trump returned to office.
“Since President Trump came into office, obesity rates in this country have dropped by 2.5 percent,” Kennedy said. “That’s the first drop in 50 years.”
Kennedy said the decline could eventually reduce pressure on the nation’s health care system, arguing that obesity is a major driver of chronic illness and public spending.
“Forty-eight cents out of every dollar that you pay to the federal government in taxes is now going to treat for health care, and about 90 percent of that is spent on treating chronic disease,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy compared current health trends with those of the early 1960s, when his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was in office. He said the United States was once considered the healthiest country in the world but now faces the highest chronic disease burden.
“When my uncle was president, three percent of children were obese. Now it’s 20 percent… 77 percent of our kids cannot qualify for military service because of chronic disease, mainly obesity. This has national security implications. It is absolutely destroying our country economically. It’s the biggest cause,” Kennedy said.
The Department of Health and Human Services highlighted Kennedy’s remarks in an X post.
Kennedy rejected the idea that the obesity crisis is primarily the result of personal weakness or lack of discipline. He said Americans were pushed toward unhealthy diets through processed foods and decades of flawed nutrition guidance.
“It’s not because they suddenly became indolent or lazy or hungry. It’s because they were being mass poisoned by ultra-processed foods, and because of the food pyramid and the dietary guidelines, we were directed away from protein, away from healthy foods,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy said a majority of the calories consumed by Americans now come from ultra-processed foods, which he said damage metabolic health.
“It’s poisonous. It destroys your metabolic system. It makes you obese, and you know, people, diabetes, for example, is driven by ultra-processed food. When I was a kid, a typical pediatrician would see one case of type two diabetes over a 40 or 50 year career. Today 38 percent of American teens are diabetic or pre diabetic,” Kennedy said.
He called the trend a “terrible crisis” and warned that many young people are being placed on a path toward lifelong medical dependence.
“These are kids who are now going to be dependent on pharmaceutical interventions for the rest of their lives,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy also pointed to China as an example of how rapid dietary changes can affect national health. He said just over half of China’s adult population is now diabetic or prediabetic, while 95 years ago there was “no diabetes in China.”
“Why is that? It’s because they build 20,000 fast food joints, and they began importing American ultra-processed foods, and our diet is now killing us,” Kennedy said. “If you’re obese or overweight, it’s not your fault, it’s because the government has been lying to you for 50 years.”
“And now you have a government that is telling you the truth,” he said as the audience applauded.
HHS shared additional video of Kennedy’s comments in another X post.
Kennedy’s remarks follow the Trump administration’s rollout of a new inverted food pyramid that encourages Americans to eat “real food” and prioritize healthy fats, protein, dairy, fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
The White House previously promoted the updated nutrition guidance in an X post.
Kennedy framed the reported obesity decline as an early result of a broader effort to change federal nutrition messaging and reduce chronic disease.
The administration has argued that shifting Americans away from ultra-processed foods and toward nutrient-dense whole foods could improve public health while lowering long-term medical costs.
Kennedy said the issue reaches beyond individual health, describing obesity, diabetes and chronic disease as economic and national security challenges that affect military readiness, federal spending and the future health of children.
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