Earlier this year, the department of Health and Human Services led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr released a report called “Making American Healthy Again”. This 73 page report was focused on addressing major health concerns that affect Americans and particularly children.
Those top concerns are listed in the report’s initial table of contents and includes a discussion on chronic disease risks, ultra-processed foods, environmental chemicals, digital age behavioral concerns, and the overmedicalization of our kids. The report offers a well-balanced and nuanced look into a conversation that has fortunately amplified in recent years due to increased knowledge and patient empowerment. Americans now more than ever are reading up on health due to information available in the internet, but our health indexes and outcomes are still a statistical concern compared to other industrialized nations in the world. As a husband and father of two teenage girls as well as being a health promotions advocate for many years, I am greatly invested in a culture and society that is encouraged to be as healthy as possible.
Good health is a gift from God and should be stewarded properly. First off, when it comes to staying healthy the main issue is not so much knowledge as much as it is discipline, choices, and actions. Americans are smart enough to know that vegetables, drinking plenty of water, and exercise is good for you, and that smoking, excessive sugar and sodium, and too much alcohol is not. But despite knowing that, we still make bad choices anyway and do it because it simply feels good. Our taste buds and current socio-sensory brain wiring derives pleasure and stress relief from the sodium, sugars, and chemical content from many of the common foods in the American diet.
After having spent several years overseas during my military career, there was a 10-year period where I lived in 3 countries that are consistently ranked in the top ten healthiest nations on earth. Those 3 places are Italy, Spain, and Japan. The United States is usually ranked in the 20’s. One of the main reasons that those nations are generally healthier are lifestyle factors such as a more temperate work-life balance and generally healthier food that is less influenced by the lobbying power of the profit-driven food industry that capitalizes on American’s cravings for sodium and sugar quick fixes. Having immersed myself within those nations and having forged very close ties with several families in Japan and the European nations, it was very apparent of the incredibly positive and natural influences that those environments and cultures had on our holistic health. After returning to the United States and my dear state of Texas, the readjustment to the American lifestyle of rush, heavy traffic, poor food, and distractions was something we had to deal with.
After now being back in the continental U.S. for nearly 6 years and observing the health culture here at home, there is no doubt that it is possible to make improvements to not only our health care system and culture, but in the empowerment of a society where individuals can make healthier choices. The good news is that there are already a lot of Americans doing the right thing. Preventive Medicine messaging encouraging cancer screenings is very robust. The tobacco industry’s lobbying power has been reduced significantly. The fitness culture is steady as always and is increasingly more inclusive so as to not discourage initial entrants with significant work ahead of them in order to get in shape. A popular meme on Social Media declares “Making fun of a fat person in the gym, is like making fun of an addict who enters rehab. Never look down on people who are trying to improve themselves”. Good stuff.
Though there are many encouraging signs of improving health outcomes for Americans, there is still a lot of work to do. The work and journey of improving our personal and collective health is truly one that is best accomplished with the company and help of family and friends. The MAHA report is a solid and worthy read that also covers mental health concerns of children and screen time usage. Like so many health concerns that inter-relate screen time, social media over indexing, and physical inactivity, a different option can be in person socialization that can include physical, mental, and emotional health benefits and rewards. A hike, a fun Saturday ultimate frisbee game, or any activity that can create an environment where the intentional effect to produce fun, smiles, kind words, laughter, good vibes, and deep positive impressions are always a good treat for our souls. When people come together and enjoy each other’s company, good health is smiling at us.
Good health is not just the absence of sickness, but the abundance of joy and strength a person has in their life. It is attained with not only good decisions about what we consume and produce, but also how we love, bless, and take care of one another. That itself can help lower blood pressure, but also the pressure of living in a complex world.