{"id":21129,"date":"2025-01-29T17:34:22","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T18:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=21129"},"modified":"2025-01-29T19:23:57","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T19:23:57","slug":"fact-checking-rfk-jr-s-health-claims-on-obesity-medicaid-and-fluoride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=21129","title":{"rendered":"Fact-Checking RFK Jr.\u2019s Health Claims on Obesity, Medicaid and Fluoride"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">During the hearing to consider his nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke at length about issues in health and medicine, including the cause of chronic illnesses, Covid-19 and ultraprocessed foods.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Here is a running list of key health claims, fact-checked by our reporters.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-38d438d9\">Chronic Disease<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Kennedy\u2019s opening statement focused on rising chronic health conditions, saying there was a crisis in children\u2019s health in the United States. Many experts agree \u2014 though they disagree about the causes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/school-health-conditions\/chronic-conditions\/index.html\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Forty percent<\/a> of children have a chronic health condition, and the figure is higher for adolescents when obesity is included.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Roughly one in 36 children is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/autism\/data-research\/index.html\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">according to data<\/a> from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/pressroom\/nchs_press_releases\/2022\/20220126.htm\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">One in four<\/a> has an allergy or eczema, and rates of Type 2 diabetes <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/diabetes\/data-research\/research\/trends-new-diabetes-cases-young-people.html\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">have been rising<\/a> in those 19 and under every year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">And while Type 2 diabetes rates are rising, they are still low: According to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/diabetes.org\/about-diabetes\/statistics\/about-diabetes\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the American Diabetes Association<\/a>, it occurs in 0.35 percent of Americans under the age of 20.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-57527ce8\">Who Covid-19 Affects<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado pressed Mr. Kennedy on a statement Mr. Kennedy made in 2023 in which he suggested that the coronavirus <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/15\/us\/politics\/rfk-jr-remarks-covid.html\" title>targeted and spared certain ethnic groups<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171quhb\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F29%2Fhealth%2Frfk-jr-health-fact-check-obesity-covid.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F29%2Fhealth%2Frfk-jr-health-fact-check-obesity-covid.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F29%2Fhealth%2Frfk-jr-health-fact-check-obesity-covid.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F29%2Fhealth%2Frfk-jr-health-fact-check-obesity-covid.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During the hearing to consider his nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke at length about issues in health and medicine, including the cause of chronic illnesses, Covid-19 and ultraprocessed foods.Here is a running list of key health claims, fact-checked by our reporters.Chronic DiseaseMr. Kennedy\u2019s opening statement focused on rising chronic health conditions, saying there was a crisis in children\u2019s health in the United States. Many experts agree \u2014 though they disagree about the causes.Forty percent of children have a chronic health condition, and the figure is higher for adolescents when obesity is included.Roughly one in 36 children is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One in four has an allergy or eczema, and rates of Type 2 diabetes have been rising in those 19 and under every year.And while Type 2 diabetes rates are rising, they are still low: According to the American Diabetes Association, it occurs in 0.35 percent of Americans under the age of 20.Who Covid-19 AffectsSenator Michael Bennet of Colorado pressed Mr. Kennedy on a statement Mr. Kennedy made in 2023 in which he suggested that the coronavirus targeted and spared certain ethnic groups.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21131,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21129"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21132,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21129\/revisions\/21132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}