@sciencewhizliz: A few days ago a friend sent a group of us the link to a new US government website called Get Active. It’s all fancy and says that Kennedy and Trump are “empowering every American to Get Active, Eat Real Food, and Live Real Life—building a stronger future for themselves, their families, and their communities.” I saw it and got pretty angry. For a lot of reasons. But here’s a few examples. First, the website discusses the importance of getting outdoors and mentions the US National Parks. All while the administration is doing things to take away public lands or make them harder to access. Also, without any acknowledgment that they are removing protections that keep our air and environment safe for outdoor activity. For example, recent headlines have pointed out how they’re rolling back limits of forever chemicals in drinking water and soot pollution in air. Second, the website also talks about exercising and eating “real food”. All while ignoring the fact that their policies are making it harder for people to afford anything. Let alone have time to excercise. It’s impossible to choose between working more hours to feed your kids or getting to a gym. There is a lot of data, including a Poverty and Inequality report from the Center for Budget and Policy, that highlights these financial challenges. Don’t get me wrong. My family loves getting outside, exercising and eating healthy food. And I’m currently training to hike 100 miles over 7 days at the end of August. I LOVE the outdoors and excercise. But that isn’t enough or all. We also get vaccinated, go for wellness visits and take medications when needed. Some of these things are also not accessible to everyone. I grew up poor without access to many of these basics. We cannot ignore that access is a huge issue many Americans are facing. Until we address that we won’t see the benefits people want. But beyond access, if we want to be truly healthy, we also can’t ignore the infrastructure that supports these efforts. Agencies like the NIH, FDA, CDC, USDA and EPA are critical to keeping us safe and healthy. If your goal is to make America healthy, then gutting these programs is not the way. Sure, we can talk about exercise and healthy food as one part of the strategy. But you must realize that improving the health of Americans requires investment in infrastructure, health care, research, support services and workers. What’s suggested on this website right now isn’t thoughtful. It’s all just empty words on a fancy website because that’s easier than the real change that will make us all healthier and better off. We deserve better.

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Sunday 14 June 2026 02:11:59 GMT