As MAHA gains traction, will people pull away from mainstream medicine?
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“The attempt is to prevent illness and promote health, but this is sadly not something that can be done overnight, especially when the leader has no formal medical training." — Kristen Fuller, MD
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” (aka, MAHA) movement is gaining support among some conservative fitness and wellness influencers. [] But is it taking support away from doctors and medical professionals?
Kristen Fuller, MD, a physician and member of MDLinx's medical advisory board, says she has noticed “more mistrust of healthcare workers and medicine in general” since Trump took office.
While Dr. Fuller hasn’t felt a sense of violence or danger, she adds that “it is important to have protocols and training in place in the office and in hospitals to protect healthcare workers and ancillary staff in case of abusive or dangerous situations.”
Related: These subtle body cues may signal a patient is getting angry during an appointmentWhat is MAHA trying to accomplish?
One key initiative of the MAHA movement is to tackle the chronic disease epidemic, which it says it will do by addressing “poor diets, environmental toxins, and inadequate healthcare systems.” []
Some conservative fitness and wellness influencers have taken to social media to discuss unhealthy diets and to highlight artificial dyes and additives in some American food products, which they hope Kennedy will remove.
Dr. Fuller says that while some of MAHA’s initiatives are “good attempts” at promoting health, they come with “poor execution, primarily because Kennedy has no background in medicine.”
“The attempt is to prevent illness and promote health, but this is sadly not something that can be done overnight, especially when the leader has no formal medical training,” she elaborates.
To achieve success, MAHA leaders must work closely with “medical staff, politicians, big food corporations, teachers, and parents” and promote health education, Dr. Fuller says.
MAHA criticisms
Other MAHA-related sentiments, such as Kennedy’s skepticism of vaccines, cannot be described as health-focused attempts and are instead misaligned with sound healthcare practices, according to Dr. Fuller.
“There is no link between autism and vaccines,” Dr. Fuller says, expressing a position that Kennedy declined to support during his confirmation hearings. [][] “Vaccinations save lives and eradicate disease.
Related: RFK Jr.'s surprising role reversal on vaccines: Is it just a PR stunt?In fact, vaccines have probably saved more lives and are better researched than most, if not all, aspects of healthcare,” Dr. Fuller adds.
Dr. Fuller worries that, under Kennedy’s leadership as HHS Secretary, more people may skip their vaccinations and get sick as a result.
“I envision more patients coming into my office and refusing vaccines, refusing medications, etc., because of what they have read from RFK, Jr.,” Dr. Fuller says. “These types of practices can not only be harmful to my patients but also to the community at large, especially in terms of communicable diseases such as measles, influenza, COVID, etc.”