Hearing Wrap Up: Congress Must Work to Make American Children Healthy Again

WASHINGTON—Yesterday, the Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services held a hearing titled, “Better Meals, Fewer Pills: Making Our Children Healthy Again.” During the hearing, members examined how American children are being negatively impacted by unhealthy diets and the overprescription of medications for common ailments and mental and behavioral health conditions. Members also identified solutions to the health crisis among American children and actions Congress can take to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA).

Key Takeaways

Unhealthy diets and lack of exercise are decreasing children’s quality of life and contributing to higher rates of chronic disease in youth.

• Dr. Dorothy Fink, M.D., Acting Assistant Secretary for Health and Head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps at the Department of Health and Human Services, testified that “As children grow, they are exposed to unprecedented levels of processed foods that are high in sugar and chemical additives. The results are devastating. Approximately 32 percent of adolescents in the U.S. have prediabetes, and furthermore, 36 percent of children and adolescents have excess weight. Furthermore, American girls are reaching puberty earlier and boys are experiencing declining testosterone levels and reduced sperm counts compared with previous generations. These trends may be linked to diet, obesity, and environmental exposures, and they demand immediate investigation.”
• Dr. Eve Stoody, Ph.D., Director of Nutrition Guidance and Analysis Division at the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), testified that “Unfortunately, the state of the American diet is poor. This poor diet has resulted in worsening health outcomes among children and adolescents, which have contributed to increased rates of chronic disease. The Healthy Eating Index, or HEI, is an analytic tool that has been developed by USDA and HHS that measures the quality of the overall diet. HEI scores can range from 0 to 100, with a score of 100 indicating alignment with a healthy diet. The average HEI score for children and adolescents two to 18 years of age is a 54 out of 100. Among the top sources of calories in the American diet are desserts and sweet snacks, sugar sweetened beverages, and chips and savory snacks. These foods illustrate that the American diet is high in added sugars and refined grains. Regarding added sugars, Americans consume about 270 calories, and that comes to about 17 teaspoons of added sugars a day, and intakes can vary substantially.”

Overdiagnosis and overmedicalization are doing more harm than good to children’s health.

• Dr. Fink testified that “The mental health crisis among adolescents has led to increasing use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, despite the [Food and Drug Administration]’s 2004 black box warning noting an elevated risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in young people. While these medications have benefits, they must be paired with careful monitoring and expanded access to nonpharmacologic interventions and adolescents that address the underlying causes of depression and anxiety. Today, we stand at a crossroads. The chronic disease epidemic in our children is the defining public health crisis of our time.”

Congress should work to advance President Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) initiative to improve Americans’ lives and decrease chronic disease.

Member Highlights:

Subcommittee Chairman Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) asked about the problems with American foods that are causing diets to be so unhealthy. 

Subcommittee Chairman Grothman: “Do you think the problem is the lack of calories here?”

Dr. Fink: “It is multifactorial, most definitely. And so, food plays a huge role in our health. And that is why we are currently working on the dietary guidelines and ensuring that they are based on gold standard scientific evidence, so that every American family across America knows the best foods. And furthermore, they can take steps to reverse their chronic diseases.”

Subcommittee Chairman Grothman also inquired about the increase in medications being prescribed to young people and the impacts on their health.

Subcommittee Chairman Grothman: “Dr. Fink, could you comment a little on the massive increase on pharmaceuticals, going to young people today? And are you working at HHS or FDA working to study the impacts on this massive increase in pharmaceuticals our young children are having?”

Dr. Fink: “Thank you, Congressman, for your question. Absolutely. Our children’s youth are now more than ever receiving way too many medications instead of focusing on lifestyle changes first, which means focusing on what we were here to today to focus on which is fewer pills and better meals. When you think about mental health, we have our children’s youth survey that comes out of the Department of Health and Human Services, of the children who experience mental health and behavioral health conditions, over half of them receive medications for these conditions. We need to look at the treatment regimens that we have, and we really need to work with our families, work with our schools to think about what are the root causes of these conditions.”

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) examined the impact of ultra-processed foods.

Rep. Sessions: “What are some examples of ultra processed foods? Where are these found? Is it something that a family does? Is it taught in schools? What is ultra-processed food?”

Dr. Stoody: “Ultra processed foods is really a topic that’s grown in discussions, I would say in the last decade, there’s been a lot of research. One of the prime definitions that has been used in research is one that came from Brazil, and it’s called NOVA. The way that foods are categorized within that system and similar systems is the level of processing that they undergo, whether they have additives, flavorings, things like that, colorings. There are considerations around, added sugars, added fats, salt. So, there are a number of definitions, some that are primary. You know, NOVA noted was the primary one. There has been discussion that some of these definitions are really broad and that they’re including things like… I think a lot of us, when we think of ultra processed foods, things like sodas or candy are really front of mind and they’re pretty generally agreed upon as ultra processed foods. But there are some things, like whole grain products, like yogurt, like bag salads or canned vegetables, that there’s questions like, ‘should those be included in that larger definition of ultra processed foods?’”

Rep. John McGuire (R-Va.) inquired about the consequences of sedentary lifestyles and processed foods on mental health outcomes.

Rep. McGuire: “Our children are not as healthy as they once were or should be. Dr. Fink, in your opinion, does living in a sedentary lifestyle contribute to the likelihood of a child being included in one of the previous statistics I mentioned?”

Dr. Fink: “Yes.”

Rep. McGuire: “And, Dr. Fink, how does a sedentary lifestyle impact mental health?”

Dr. Fink: “There are so many factors, but when our children’s youth are tied to a screen all day long and they’re not being active, they build up of fat in their bodies, right? You’re not eating right. You’re not active as body weight. Through excess body weight, you start making extra hormones and you have all sorts of metabolic impacts that impact every aspect of your body, including the developing brain. And so, we most definitely want to make considerations for how we can get our kids active, which is, as you said, bringing back the presidential fitness test and just really challenging families to become active is the way we need to go.”

…

Rep. McGuire: “Dr. Stoody, an estimated 70% of American diets come from ultra processed sources. Um, what problems can ultra processed foods cause for children who consume them on a regular basis?”

Dr. Stoody: “I think it’s really around the over consumption of ultra processed foods, and there are there has been research that suggests and kind of tries to look at what are those mechanisms. There have been studies suggesting that overconsumption, consumption of ultra processed foods have been associated with higher body weight, increased risk of different risk factors associated with disease. There are a number of reasons why that may be. Is it because they’re high in added sugars? Added or added fat? Added sodium? Is it because they’re low in fiber? Is it because it’s they are displacing healthy foods in the diet? I think it’s probably a many different things, but we do see a relationship between overconsumption and risk, including in childhood.”

Click here to watch the hearing.