MAHA Commission publishes Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy responding to childhood chronic disease

On September 9, 2025, the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission released the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy¹. The 20-page report outlines more than 120 initiatives to addressing the scope and presenting policy strategies to end the childhood chronic disease crisis in the US.

Both the Strategy report and the 73-page MAHA Assessment, published in May, are in response to Executive Order 14212 signed by President Donald Trump on February 13, 2025. The MAHA Commission members for the report include Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture; Martin Makary, MD, Commissioner of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA); and others.

“The Trump Administration is mobilizing every part of government to confront the childhood chronic disease epidemic,” Secretary Kennedy, Chair of the Commission, stated in a September 9 press release from the HHS². “This strategy represents the most sweeping reform agenda in modern history—realigning our food and health systems, driving education, and unleashing science to protect America’s children and families. We are ending the corporate capture of public health, restoring transparency, and putting gold-standard science—not special interests—at the center of every decision.”

What are the main ideas of the Strategy report?

As outlined in the press release, the five key focus areas in report include:

• Restoring Science and Research
• Historic Executive Actions
• Process Reform and Deregulation
• Public Awareness and Education
• Private Sector Collaboration

“Closing the GRAS loophole” and reforming dietary guidelines are noted as specific initiatives in the Historic Executive Actions.

Additionally, the four drivers of childhood disease identified in the Strategy plan were poor diet, chemical exposure, lack of physical activity and chronic stress, and overmedicalization. Longitudinal research initiatives for identifying risk factors and prevention strategies for chronic disease include, among other factors, the importance of nutrition and the potential of certain high-quality supplements.

“For too long health care has used a reactive approach to chronic diseases,” stated FDA Commissioner Makary in the HHS press release. “I am pleased to support the findings of the MAHA commission and to promote a more proactive approach, tackling root causes undermining the health and happiness of American children.”

Another of the initiatives concerns 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), and states that the FDA will provide public education on the dangers of the synthetic compound of the kratom plant and manage the enforcement against products being marketed to children. In July, the FDA had recommended the compound be placed under the Controlled Substances Act, and recently, Florida filed an emergency rule to do so, while Ohio has taken similar steps.

Industry stakeholder reactions

In response to the publication of the report, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) published a September 9 press release³ voicing support for the attention given to nutrition in supporting health, stating that there is an opportunity for supplementation and functional foods to play a role in healthy diets, addressing gaps in nutrition, and reducing healthcare costs.

“We look forward to working with Secretary Kennedy and the Administration to ensure supplements are given appropriate regulatory attention and considered as part of any initiatives that encompass nutrition—whether through health education, access programs like SNAP, or healthcare savings tools such as FSAs and HSAs,” the press release states.

Specific actions included in the 73-page MAHA Assessment include expanding research into areas including disease prevention and nutrition, dietary guidelines reformation, reforming organic certification, and increasing parent access to nutrition and health information⁴. The importance of micronutrients in diet, nutrition programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), ultra processed foods and sugar, and dietary guidelines are also covered in the report.

References

1. Make America Healthy Again Commission. Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy. September 9, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/The-MAHA-Strategy-WH.pdf (accessed 2025-09-10).
2. US Department of Health and Human Services. MAHA Commission Unveils Sweeping Strategy to Make Our Children Healthy Again https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/maha-commission-report-childhood-disease-strategy.html (accessed 2025-09-10).
3. Council for Responsible Nutrition. CRN Cheers Attention to Nutrition; Encourages More Focus on Role of Supplementation for Better Health https://crnusa.org/newsroom/crn-cheers-attention-nutrition-encourages-more-focus-role-supplementation-better-health (accessed 2025-09-10).
4. The White House. Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment. May 22, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/maha/ (accessed 2025-09-10).