MAHA Commission Report Released
The Make America Healthy Again Commission unveiled its second strategy document this afternoon, closely mirroring the draft circulated to industry groups last month. The plan identifies 128 recommendations to tackle what it calls the “four potential drivers of chronic disease:” poor diet, chemical exposure, lack of physical activity and chronic stress, and overmedicalization.
General Overview
What’s Included
Policy reforms centered on food dyes and chemical additives were included but non-specific. The commission intends to advance policies prohibiting the use of petroleum-based dies and concentrate on expediting its review and approval of color additive petitions for colors from natural sources.
The outline announces the creation of the Initiative on Chronic Disease under the NIH,which will “leverage and align existing NIH research projects, improve NIH coordination on chronic disease research, and generate actionable results for diseases arising in childhood and adulthood.” The report also maintained parts of the earlier draft that emphasizeincreasing physical activity and improving nutrition options in schools.
The report broadly mentions a “vaccine framework” to ensure the “best childhood vaccine schedule” and modernizing vaccines while ensuring “scientific and medical freedom”. The ‘Administration for a Healthy America’ will be brought under the HHS as part of the strategy’s execution.
Updated Dietary Guidelines, focused on whole foods and reducing added sugars andprocessed foods are expected to be released in the coming weeks. While the report proposes a national educational campaign to promote the revised guidelines, it offers few details on scope or implementation.The strategy also reiterates earlier calls for broader public health education and greater transparency around nutrition and health. An emphasis on private partnerships to accelerate innovation in “health-focused technologies, agricultural solutions, and healthier nutrition outcomes” is also included.
What’s Missing
The report generally steers clear of specific crackdowns on the food and agricultureindustries. While including a callout for evaluation of the health effect of pesticides, the report takes no immediate steps to curb the use of glyphosate or similar chemicals. The report calls for efforts to “reform the approval process” for pesticides but does not offer specifics other than that the goal is to protect against pests and “increase the timely availability of more innovative growing solutions for farmers”.
A specific definition for ultra-processed foods remains under review by the USDA, HHS, and FDA. The report also mentions continuing work to its proposed Front-of-Pack Nutrition Information rulemaking.