What Are We So Afraid Of?

Make America Healthy Again? Or Is It Just Fatphobia?

There’s a new public health campaign making waves: Make America Healthy Again (MAHA). Spearheaded by now Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and endorsed by a growing number of politicians and celebrities, this initiative claims to promote national health by focusing on eliminating “harmful” ingredients from our foods and cutting back on processed foods. And on the surface, who could argue with making America “healthier”? It seems like something we all can get behind…right?

But look closer—and it’s clear this isn’t really about health.

Let’s be totally honest; this is about fear.
More specifically, the fear of fatness.

The underlying message of MAHA isn't just about removing ingredients or encouraging exercise. It’s wellness culture gone awry, and it promotes a particular kind of body as the benchmark of health. And, as someone who lives in a larger body, I can tell you—this isn't new. It’s just a rebranded version of the same old fear: the fear of gaining weight, the fear of being fat, the fear of being me.

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Short-Sighted and Scientifically Shaky

If the goal truly were to improve public health—especially for kids—the focus would be on the foundational drivers of health:

• Poverty

• Access to quality healthcare

• Food security and affordability

Instead, we’re getting public shaming of food choices and nutritional scapegoating (like the war on seed oils or other ingredients that supposedly can’t be pronounced), shaming for medications to treat mental health issues, and a whole lot more. These make for great soundbites and get folks nice and riled up, but they won't move the needle on actual health outcomes.

Meanwhile, federal spending on research, food safety, and public services is being significantly cut, and the potential threat to Medicaid is very real. These cuts are further limiting healthcare access for low-income families. Lawmakers are toying with SNAP restrictions, focusing on what poor people “should” be allowed to eat instead of fixing the structural barriers that keep nutritious food out of reach.

This isn’t science.
It’s privilege dressed up as policy.

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Weight Stigma Isn’t Healthy

Here’s what I see happening: as MAHA gains traction, so does the cultural message that being in a larger body is not only undesirable but un-American. This campaign adds fuel to the already rampant fire of weight stigma—a form of discrimination that has real health consequences. It increases anxiety, depression, disordered eating, and avoidance of medical care. All under the guise of “wellness.”

I know this intimately. I’ve lived it.

Being fat in this country can feel like you’re always being watched. Judged. Treated like a problem to be solved. And I’ll be honest—it’s painful. Deeply painful. Not because of my body but because of how the world reacts. The comments, the assumptions, the medical neglect, the unsolicited advice. It wears on you.

So when I hear politicians say they want to “make America healthy again,” I can’t help but hear: we want fewer people like you.

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And What About Trans Health?

Here’s the kicker: it’s laughable to talk about making America healthy while actively passing anti-trans laws across the country. Trans youth are under attack. Gender-affirming care is being restricted or criminalized. This isn’t health policy—it’s cruelty masquerading as concern.

Health is about safety. Dignity. Access.
You can’t claim to care about public health while harming the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of an entire community.

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If We Really Cared About Health…

We’d be advocating for:

• Universal healthcare access

• School meals that nourish, not shame

• Living wages and housing security

• Anti-discrimination protections in medical settings

• Policies that affirm people of all sizes, genders, and identities

We’d be asking different questions.
Not “How do we make people thinner?”
But “How do we make people feel safe in their bodies?”

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So, What Now?

As a fat person, as a clinician, and as someone who deeply cares about the well-being of kids and adults alike—I’m tired of how fear is driving policy.

I’m tired of the narrative that being fat is the worst thing you can be.

I want us to build a world where health isn’t used as a weapon and where bodies like mine aren’t scapegoats for broken systems. Because if we’re really going to make America healthy, it won’t come from cutting seed oils or shaming what we eat.

It’s going to come from a place of care and kindness.