The U.S. Disease Epidemic

Americans Are Not Feeling Well

(Note: A version of this article was published in the Orlando Sentinel)

Despite the huge amount of appropriated funds and the strenuous efforts of many individuals working in healthcare, Americans have increasingly suffered from a range of acute and chronic conditions over recent decades. As an influential member of the Trump administration, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will have the opportunity to begin a reversal of this trend. He is developing plans to revamp the Federal agencies that regulate the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

Mr. Kennedy has presented incontrovertible data about the state of our health. He says the first step towards change is reforming policies and restoring compromised government oversight.   

It will take a concerted effort to convert a system that has allowed an array of degrading health conditions and an avalanche of human suffering. The statistics compiled by reliable scientific sources reveal details of this staggering crisis.

~ Six out of ten adults in America are living with a chronic illness. Seventy-four percent of American adults are overweight or obese. Rates of kidney disease and autoimmune conditions are going up. Cancer rates among young people are rising.

~ One-third of American teens are taking a prescription drug and nearly 30% are pre-diabetic. More than 18% of adolescents have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. In 2020, 77% of young adults didn't qualify for the military based on their health scores, forcing the military to lower its standards.

~ Health problems of young Americans begin at an early age even as they receive vaccines to protect them from illness. The CDC currently recommends at least 70 doses of 18 different vaccines from infancy until age eighteen, yet children have never had more acute and chronic ailments. These vaccination protocols urgently need re-evaluation.

The increasing use of prescription drugs by all Americans presents a dire warning. However, due to the unprecedented influence of lobbyists, elected representatives have allowed the pharmaceutical industry rampant freedom to sell questionable products.

Washington has not solved the problem of the revolving doors between Big Pharma and government regulators. This is the primary reason federal agencies are paralyzed by corporate interests and remain negligent in their protective roles. 

Americans are also barraged with a one-sided view about the benefits of pharmaceuticals. The United States is one of two countries in the world where prescription drugs can be advertised. This inappropriate promotional effort has a secondary consequence; news and information about pharmaceutical issues cannot be trusted when coming from networks dependent on this huge source of income.

Mr. Kennedy’s efforts to initiate meaningful change to the current system continue to be dismissed by mainstream news media. Big Pharma’s concerns about earnings overshadow what is best for patients. Profitable symptomatic drugs dominate treatment while funding research to understand the underlying causes of illness is secondary. 

Mr. Kennedy’s critique of the standards and practices that have allowed dangerous pharmaceuticals on the market is not speculative. Government oversight has become lax and needs a dramatic overhaul. An assessment of Big Pharma's motivation and practices is overdue. 

In addition to improved oversight of treatment with drugs, the causes of acute and chronic illness must also be examined.

RFK Jr. also points to the sound evidence that increasing amounts of environmental toxins are likely factors contributing to high rates of disease. While many other countries have restrictions reflecting these concerns, the government has failed to protect Americans; the United States has some of the weakest standards in the developed world.

As of 2019, the U.S. permits the use of 72 pesticides that the European Union bans. The government also allows chemicals in food and skincare that are outlawed in Europe. Some of these additives are quite common in our daily lives.

The direct relationship between exposure to toxins and well-being has been effectively obscured by the corporate interests overseeing medical care and agricultural guidelines. 

Despite growing awareness over decades that chronic diseases and acute illness are often preventable with a natural diet of fresh food free from chemicals, at least 71% of medical schools still don’t require a course in nutrition.

Dietary recommendations are coming from those swayed by corporations profiting from denatured foods. Ninety-five percent of the members of a USDA panel who updated the most recent nutritional guidelines had conflicts of interest.

Financial incentives for improving diet and physical fitness must become central to the U.S. Government’s contribution to supporting a vital population.

Mr. Kennedy has rightly pointed out that the other important issues facing us today will only be resolved by making America healthy again. Considering how ill Americans are, anyone who doubts his premise that monetary interests and political corruption have driven the rise of acute and chronic disease — is supporting the continuing corruption.

The great challenge of improving the nation’s health should not be on one man’s shoulders — it is everyone’s responsibility. Any resolution of the healthcare crisis will be accomplished only by a united effort across political lines.

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