Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addressed America’s health problems in a speech after he suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump. He said obese people, at one time, joined the circus. That’s an indelicate description in a country where three-quarters of adults are either overweight or obese (43 percent), but Kennedy has a valid point. America has a weight problem, and politicians in both parties should treat it as a social issue. Physical fitness is an example of where personal responsibility trumps government policy.
Obesity contributes to physical and mental health issues—heart disease, diabetes, cancer, miscarriage and stillbirth, depression, anxiety—but it causes more problems. It costs the healthcare system $173 billion annually and the economy $425.5 billion, according to the company GlobalData. This also negatively impacts military readiness and increases carbon emissions due to overconsumption and decreased fuel efficiency.
Federal, state, and local governments have options to help the country lose weight. Some of the easiest ones involve making junk food less appealing to children. Many countries ban junk food advertising during children’s television programming. Another one for kids: ban or restrict toxic food dyes. I loved bright, synthetic blue candy and foods growing up, but these chemicals exist to make unhealthy food look more appealing. Making sure kids have access to healthy school lunches is also something the government can do, though many freaked out when Michelle Obama wanted to do it. Maybe feeding kids pizza and chocolate milk at 10:30 a.m. is a bad idea. When I was in high school, one of our starting defensive linemen ordered a triple lunch every day: three slices of pizza. He was 6-foot-5, well over 300 pounds—and the slowest guy on the team. Other than pizza, I recall chicken nuggets with hairs in them and stale peanut butter and fluff sandwiches as school lunch options.
Welfare reform can also encourage healthy eating, as food stamp recipients are, on average, heavier than their peers. If SNAP prevented its over 40 million beneficiaries from using their benefits on junk food, that may encourage healthier eating habits. Some politicians want to stop welfare recipients from using their benefits to purchase steak and lobster, but the more pressing concern is Fruit Gushers, cheese curls, and Pepsi. Some may also advocate for a sugar tax to make this happen, but that’s a tax increase on working people, making it less viable.
Discouraging alcohol consumption is another way politicians can make our country thinner. Alcohol increases caloric intake and decreases impulse control. Hangovers also make people less likely to exercise. Whether through higher excise taxes, banning alcohol television ads, increased awareness via the Ad Council, or nudging state and local governments to enact more responsible policies, Washington should address the country’s alcohol problem, especially since it intersects with the weight issue. That’s why when people quit drinking—or take a break—they often lose weight.
The federal government may have a harder time encouraging exercise than state and local governments, as those entities have more control over land use and access to youth and high school sports. The feds could, however, make gym memberships and fitness classes tax deductible; capping such a benefit is the best way to prevent it from becoming a handout to the wealthy.
The federal government also issues farm subsidies, which encourage the overproduction of various foods, including ones turned into cheap fats, oils, and sugars. These subsidies disproportionately benefit the wealthy and prop up farms loaded with illegal immigrant labor, incentivizing illegal immigration.
Right-wing think tanks often advocate killing farm subsidies entirely. However, Big Ag is a special interest group that gets what it wants in American politics—including a massive pork sandwich bill every five years. I agree with reducing the subsidies and relying on freer trade to import food from countries with stringent safety standards, increasing our access to inexpensive and healthy foods while disincentivizing the mass consumption of junk food.
All of that seems like it would fit under the Make America Healthy Again agenda that Kennedy wants, but it’s hard to imagine Trump spearheading the cause. Trump’s a fat 78-year-old man who loves eating McDonald’s and KFC. He doesn’t exercise much. He also once told The New York Times that working out causes injuries. ”All my friends who work out all the time, they’re going for knee replacements, hip replacements—they’re a disaster,” Trump said in 2015.
Trump also served as president for four years, and never directly targeted obesity reduction. His administration even proposed rules to make school lunches less healthy, sticking to his theme of reversing everything his predecessor, Barack Obama, did in office. I’m no Obama fan, but encouraging better eating habits among children is smart. If he wins a second term, Trump should have someone in his administration address the obesity issue. Maybe Kennedy is the right guy to do it, as long as he has no authority over child vaccine policy.
