Newly sworn-in Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during a Fox News interview on Thursday that the U.S. is “the sickest” country on the planet and that he plans to be the “disrupter” the nation’s healthcare system sorely needs in order to “Make America Healthy Again.”
“We are 4.2 percent of the world’s population, we buy 70 percent of the pharmaceutical drugs on earth,” he told host Laura Ingraham. “We spend two-to-three times what other countries spend for healthcare and we have the worst health outcomes.
“We literally have the sickest population in the world. Those are the people that got us there,” he continued, referencing the nation’s big pharmaceutical companies. “We do need a break. We need somebody different who can come in and say, ‘I’m a disrupter.’ I’m not gonna let the food industry and the pharmaceutical industry run health policy anymore.”
He noted further: “We’re gonna turn health policy over to people who are actually concerned with public health.”
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In an email announcing his confirmation by the full Senate earlier Thursday, Kennedy’s team wrote, “The future of public health is about to change forever. This is a turning point for our nation. With RFK Jr. at the helm, the battle for accountability and real health reform is just getting started.”
Also Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating the Make America Healthy Again Commission, which will be led by Kennedy, Fox News Digital exclusively reported.
In outlining RFK Jr.’s objectives, Fox also noted that a great many doctors — including Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon and longevity expert — believe that food is the “root cause of chronic disease.”
“Kennedy understands that fixing the food system is a priority,” he told Fox News Digital. “Americans should expect policies to increase access to real, whole foods, counter corporate lobbying, and make nutrition a cornerstone of healthcare.”
“If Americans stopped consuming nutrient-deficient, ultra-processed junk laden with sugar, we wouldn’t need a drug like Ozempic to compensate for poor dietary discipline,” the physician also said. “Remember, aside from the rare exception, a leaner body is always a healthier body.”
Dr. Dino Prato, oncologist and owner of Envita Medical Centers in Arizona, echoed similar sentiments.
“Kennedy’s focus on promoting healthier food choices could lead to reforms in food policy, such as updating dietary guidelines to reflect the importance of whole foods, limiting the marketing of unhealthy foods to children, and supporting local and sustainable food systems,” he told Fox News.
Kennedy’s focus on clean food reflects the “growing public concern” about the effects of processed foods and environmental toxins on health, Prato stated.
“By promoting cleaner food standards and a shift toward sustainable, whole food-based dietary guidelines, we aim to address chronic diseases at their roots.”
The MAHA Commission aims to expand health coverage and treatment options “for beneficial lifestyle changes and disease prevention,” Fox News also reported.
“Kennedy’s support for value-based care models could lead to more efficient and cost-effective healthcare delivery, improving access to care for underserved populations,” Prato told the outlet. “This will also incentivize the development of innovative and more affordable healthcare solutions.”
Prato also said he foresees a renewed emphasis on “integrative medicine,” which he said merges therapies and lifestyle changes to improve health outcomes.
“Kennedy’s personal experience with integrative medicine could lead to increased support for and greater access to alternative and complementary therapies, potentially improving patient outcomes and reducing reliance on pharmaceuticals,” he said.
Kennedy also reiterated to Ingraham he’s not out to deny vaccines to anyone but rather to provide Americans with access to “good science” surrounding them.
