Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asserted, on Wednesday, that he could tell when a child is dealing with “mitochondrial challenges” or “inflammation” by just looking at them.
Lamenting about the health of America’s youth, Kennedy, who does not hold a medical degree, espoused misinformation about juvenile diabetes and autism rates while claiming he can look at a child and determine they are sick.
“I know what a healthy child is supposed to look like,” Kennedy said during a press briefing with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who signed a Make America Healthy Again bill on Wednesday.
“I’m looking at kids while I walk through the airports today, as I walk down the street, and I see these kids that are just overburdened with mitochondrial challenges, inflammation, you can tell it from their faces, from their body movement, and from their lack of social connection,” Kennedy continued.
Kennedy joined Abbott for the bill signing, which seeks to implement “MAHA” policies to improve childhood health, such as requiring extra warning labels for foods containing certain additives, prohibiting SNAP beneficiaries from using funds to purchase sweetened beverages and candy, removing certain additives from free to discounted school lunches, and more.
He praised the state for doing “more” than others to combat unhealthy youths.
But the HHS secretary, who has a long history of spreading misinformation about health, also used incorrect statistics to raise alarm about childhood diabetes and autism.
“I came from a big family. I have seven kids, I had 11 brothers and sisters, I had about 70 first cousins, and I never saw anyone with diabetes, never knew anyone with a food allergy, never knew anyone with autism,” Kennedy said – repeating a common anecdote he uses.
Kennedy went on to claim that 38 percent of teenagers are “diabetic or pre-diabetic” – however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Diabetes Association found that 0.35 percent of people under 20 years old are diabetic.
The 38 percent statistic Kennedy used appears to be the estimated percentage of American adults who are prediabetic.
“We have more chronic disease than any country in the world, and we know what it is, and we know it’s the food that we’re eating, it’s environmental causes,” Kennedy said.
Diabetes rates in the U.S. have gone up over the years. That is largely attributed to a lack of exercise and a poor diet. Ultra-processed foods make up approximately 50 percent of the average American diet.
Through “MAHA,” Kennedy has made it his mission to improve the health of Americans and reduce chronic illness. While a majority of the public approves of that intention, Kennedy’s habit of using misinformation about health science has clashed with it.
During Wednesday’s press conference, Kennedy also falsely claimed autism rates in the U.S. are “one in 25” – childhood autism rates are around 1 in 31 or 3.2 percent, according to the CDC. Adult autism rates are around 1 in 45, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Autism rates have increased over the years, but many researchers largely credit the increase to increased awareness, broadened diagnostics, and wider access to resources. Some studies suggest environmental factors and genetics could play a role as well.
