The State of Health and Wellness of our Union

Health and wellness are intertwined in ways that will be difficult to untangle. Our cardinal direction has shifted with the ever-expanding impact of influencers, trust in science and expertise continuing to erode, and the continued growth of the wellness industry. Make America Healthy Again has assembled a powerful force poised to control parts of the federal government. Let's review what this year has brought and where we're headed.

Weaponizing Anger and Fear

Americans are scared and angry. Scared that we are less healthy than we should be and angry about it. People are looking for a scapegoat, be it doctors, Big Pharma, Big Food, or Big Government, all “colluding” to keep us less healthy than we feel we can or should be. 

This is partially the fault of public health’s messaging. While this is not the only reason for anger and frustration, it is important.  It is our role to focus on what can be improved. However, we're not good at marketing and promoting our successes. We are dooming ourselves to a cycle of 

Problem → Brainstorming → Testing Solutions → Finding a Solution → Next Problem. 

Rarely do we take the time to acknowledge and discuss the successes, so, understandably, people may feel a constant state of doom and gloom. For example, here are some public health and healthcare wins from 2024 that you probably didn't hear about:
 

• Deaths from cervical cancer are down.
• The FDA approved a new therapy for the treatment of advanced melanoma. It also shows promise for other solid tumors. 
• New option for colorectal cancer screening that isn't a colonoscopy.
• Tricuspid valve replacement without open heart surgery. 

These successes keep people alive longer with a greater quality of life using less invasive treatments and prevention techniques. Honestly, what more can we ask for? 

But, as I have discussed, the weaponization of fear and anger by the Wellness Industry is a tactic to make people skeptical of these scientifically-based advancements and make money off that fear and skepticism. It is an extremely manipulative tactic that capitalizes on people’s real fear, anger, and pain. 

Death of Expertise

The weaponization of anger and fear amplifies the distrust and rejection of expertise; 2024 provided plenty of examples. From the continued rise of influencers as primary sources of health advice to the spectacle of the Senate Roundtable on American Health and Nutrition, which didn't feature a single registered dietitian or food scientist. Americans are eschewing expertise and substituting it with a whole lot of “Speaking Confidently Out of Turn.”

The distrust in experts didn't start this year, but the consequences of this trend are undeniable. Anthony Fauci continues to draw ire despite being retired. If the rumors are true, Joe Biden is considering a preemptive pardon for him. Much closer to home, Andrea Love and I were attacked by followers of The Food Babe for being shills. I could go on and on. 

Experts are not blameless, with many examples of experts utilizing their credentials for financial gain and celebrity. However, the erosion of trust and, often, the assumptions of bad faith are particularly damaging. Taken to its logical extreme, the continued rejection of expertise could mean that anyone can declare themselves an “expert,” rendering our carefully curated systems no longer able to protect us, which leads me to my final point…

Empowering Charlatans

The natural extension of the death of expertise is the elevation and empowerment of charlatans. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign helped boost “Wellness Warriors,” who otherwise would have continued to flail with name recognition on the Internet. His presumed ascension to lead the Department of Health and Human Services poured rocket fuel on an already large flame and has helped the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement enter the mainstream. 

The MAHA movement is a prime example of elevating charlatans. You might think of RJK, Jr as the great and powerful wizard of MAHA with his flying Monkeys, including the Food Babe, Calley, and Casey Means, even Dr. Oz himself. They all like to rail about their dislike of the Bigs - Pharma, Food, Agriculture, etc. They speak out against the profit motives of those industries (while their portfolios contain their stock), turning around and monetizing their outrage through selling supplements, detoxes, and bogus health tests. Adding Calley Means's push into Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Spending Accounts is another way to monetize wellness. 

What’s particularly strange is that, often, the same companies and practices MAHA claims to stand against are involved in their money-making ventures. An article at Elsevier made this connection explicit:

“Many of these pharma companies have made the foray into supplements because it plays to their strengths while being far, far cheaper than drug development. As big companies pursue both drug development and nutraceutical manufacturing, it seems the lines between supplements and pharmaceuticals will continue to blur.” 

If profit motives concern anyone in the MAHA movement, red flags abound. 

Where We Are Going

The writing is on the wall--we're headed backward. We will regress to much lower life expectancies if we continue elevating vibes over knowledge. The Internet has made “doing your own research” a dangerous way of living one's life; it entirely depends upon the echo chambers you inhabit. Additionally, with the erosion of expertise, a man trained as a lawyer, with no medical knowledge or training, is poised to take over Health and Human Services. 

If you are one of those frustrated by the idea that we could be and should be healthier, I hear you. I share your frustrations. If MAHA, its leaders, and its representatives are to be believed, they are from the school of “burn it all down.” Believe people when they tell you who they are and what they want. It's possible to reject certain aspects of a system without burning it entirely to the ground; it's possible to work for reforms without rejecting the cornerstones upon which a system stands. The stakes are too high not to.