Childhood cancer rates soar by nearly 50% in US, says MAHA report

A commission led by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday issued a report that said processed food, chemicals, stress and overprescription of medications and vaccines may be factors behind chronic illness in American children. The report, from the commission named after the Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, social movement aligned with Kennedy, is focused on what he says is a national crisis of increasing rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, cancer, mental health disorders, allergies and neurodevelopmental conditions like autism. “MAHA is hot,” President Donald Trump said during a press event. “We will not allow our public health system to be captured by the very industries it’s supposed to oversee.” Kennedy said there was consensus among the commission’s members to prioritize what he called the ultra-processed food crisis and to work to improve the food American children eat.The report also highlighted studies linking health disorders in humans and animals to the weed killers glyphosate and atrazine, but did not call for specific regulatory changes or restrictions on pesticides used in farming. It said the chemicals should be further researched. It criticized the U.S. approach to vaccines in children, saying European children are recommended to receive fewer. He called for study of the impact of vaccines on childhood chronic disease and of vaccine injuries. President Donal Trump said findings are alarming.

Trump rattles off more DAMNING child health stats:

— Over 40% of US children have at least one chronic health condition
— Rates of childhood cancer soared 50% since the 70s
— In 1960s, less than 5% were obese; today, over 20% https://t.co/X44pyN5pzN pic.twitter.com/TtqKqe4AHQ

— RT (@RT_com) May 22, 2025

Thursday’s report will be followed by policy prescriptions due in August. Trump signed an executive order in February establishing the commission whose members include Kennedy, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, other cabinet members and senior White House officials. Before the report’s publication, farm lobby groups had warned that criticizing specific farm practices could impede collaboration on the administration’s health agenda and put food production at risk.According to a source familiar with the matter, the lobby groups had strongly pressured the administration to not mention pesticides in the report.