Overview
On February 13, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the President's Make American Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, and its initial mission will focus on the childhood chronic disease crisis.
Shining a Light on the Childhood Chronic Disease Crisis
11-year-old Jax Bari is "Exhibit 1" in how the Biden Administration and FDA failed to protect 729,000 American children with Celiac Disease, a potentially life-threatening food allergy and autoimmune disease triggered by eating Gluten. We are grateful to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy for creating the MAHA Commission! Jax would love a seat at the table to help Make America Healthy Again, collab with the Commission and share his common sense solution to require the labeling of Gluten on all packaged foods in the U.S., just like Gluten must be declared on all food labels in 87 other countries.
The Stats Cited by President Trump's MAHA Executive Order
The following data cited in President Trump's MAHA Executive Order "applies urgently to America’s children," and following each bullet point are notes as to the data's significance and applicability to the Celiac community:
30 million U.S. children (40.7%) have at least one health condition, such as allergies, asthma, or an autoimmune disease. (Note: There are an estimated 729,000 U.S. children with Celiac Disease.)
60% of Americans have at least one chronic disease, and 40% of Americans have two or more chronic diseases. (Note: There are 3.3 million Americans with Celiac Disease, and for example, the estimated prevalence of Celiac Disease in patients with Type 1 Diabetes is approximately 6%. Upwards of 15% of Celiac patients will develop other autoimmune diseases.)
78.8 years is the average life expectancy in the United States, which is below that of other comparable countries where the life expectancy averages 82.6 years. This equates to 1.25 billion fewer life years for the United States population. (Note: A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2020 found a small but significant increased risk of mortality in people with Celiac Disease.)
The United States has the highest age-standardized cancer incidence rate among 204 countries, nearly double that of the next highest rate, with an 88% increase from 1990-2021. (Note: Research published in December 2024 showed that there is a high risk of digestive cancers in patients With Celiac Disease.)
77% of young adults do not qualify for military service in the United States. (Note: According to the U.S. Department of Defense, DoD Instruction 6130.03, Celiac is a disqualifying condition from service in the military (Medical Standards for Appointment, Enlistment, or Induction into the Military Services, Section 5.12.c.(3), May 6, 2018.)
Whole-of-Government Mandate to Address Chronic Diseases, Including Food Allergies & Auto-Immune Diseases
The Make America Healthy Again Commission is tasked with implementing a Federal policy to tackle the urgent health challenges facing Americans, particularly the increasing rates of mental health disorders, obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases, with a particular emphasis on addressing childhood chronic diseases, including allergies and autoimmune diseases.
The MAHA Commission will be chaired by HHS Secretary Kennedy, with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy serving as the Commission's Executive Director. The Executive Order outlines a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach, bringing together senior officials (or their designees) from various federal agencies, including the Secretaries of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Education, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the FDA Commissioner, the Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Director of the National Institutes for Health. Additionally, the MAHA Commission will include senior White House officials, such as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, the Director of the National Economic Council, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Initial Mission - Fighting the Childhood Chronic Disease Crisis
The initial mission of the MAHA Commission shall be to advise and assist the President on how best to exercise his authority to address the childhood chronic disease crisis. According to the Executive Order, the MAHA Commission will:
"(a) study the scope of the childhood chronic disease crisis and any potential contributing causes, including the American diet, absorption of toxic material, medical treatments, lifestyle, environmental factors, Government policies, food production techniques, electromagnetic radiation, and corporate influence or cronyism;
(b) advise and assist the President on informing the American people regarding the childhood chronic disease crisis, using transparent and clear facts; and
(c) provide to the President Government-wide recommendations on policy and strategy related to addressing the identified contributing causes of and ending the childhood chronic disease crisis."
Common Sense Solution to Address Celiac Disease, a Potentially Life-Threatening Food Allergy & Auto-immune Disease
Specific Actions & Timeline - Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy
Within 100 days of the date of this Executive Order (by May 24, 2025), the MAHA Commission shall submit the Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment to the President.
Within 180 days of the date of this Executive Order (by August 12, 2025), the MAHA Commission shall submit to the President a Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy (Strategy), based on the findings from the Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment. "The Strategy shall address appropriately restructuring the Federal Government's response to the childhood chronic disease crisis, including by ending Federal practices that exacerbate the health crisis or unsuccessfully attempt to address it, and by adding powerful new solutions that will end childhood chronic disease."
Additionally, the Executive Order provides that the National Institutes of Health and other federally funded health research should prioritize high-quality, gold-standard studies focused on identifying the root causes of why Americans are becoming ill. The Executive Order also states that all Federally funded heath research will emphasize transparency and avoid conflicts of interest to empower Americans with accurate health information.
Collab with the Commission - Public Hearings, Meetings & Roundtables
11-year-old Jax Bari would love to do a collab with the Commission and share his lived experience with the Secretary Kennedy and the MAHA Commission on what it's like to have Celiac as a child, and how his FDA Citizen Petition can help to Make America Healthy Again for 3.3 million American Celiacs, including 729,000 children like him.