Robert F. Kennedy Jr. thinks he can fix America’s obesity crisis. Good luck

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Just over a year ago, my wife and I spent a week in our favourite city – Paris – doing our favourite thing: sitting in outdoor cafés, watching the world go by.

It struck us once again, as it had before, just how beautiful the French people are – and how thin. So, so thin. We attributed it to many things. In Paris, people walk or ride their bikes everywhere. In restaurants, couples share entrées, which are smaller than one expects in North America, and particularly in the United States. Not surprisingly, French men and women have among the lowest obesity rates in all of Europe. Not that it isn’t a problem there, but not nearly to the extent it is in America.

A new report has confirmed what the casual eye tells you: people in the U.S. are overweight. In fact the study, published in The Lancet and released earlier this month, indicates that nearly three-quarters of American adults fall into the category of either overweight or obese. In 1990, that figure was about 50 per cent.

Before I’m accused of throwing stones while living in a glass house, Canada isn’t doing great on this front either. According to the World Health Organization, in 2024, 27.32 per cent of adults in Canada were considered obese – as measured by their body mass index (a formula that considers a person’s weight and height). In 2023, that number was 30 per cent, while 35.5 per cent were considered overweight. Still, the U.S. is in a class by itself.

I’ve been coming to the U.S. for decades. Over time one thing has struck me: the massive quantities of food people eat. Throughout the years I’ve also observed that the number of overweight people seems to be growing. It’s a problem politicians in the U.S. have now been talking about for years while the situation has grown into a full-blown public health crisis.

Obesity often contributes to other medical problems, including diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Republicans on the Joint Economic Committee in Congress released a report last year forecasting that obesity will cause up to US$9.1-trillion in excess medical expenditures over the next 10 years.

Debate rages, meantime, over what or who is responsible for this tragedy. The American Medical Association now considers obesity to be a disease – one that should be treated like any other medical problem. But the common misconception that willpower is the key to weight loss still persists, despite new research demonstrating that the body itself fights against fat loss as a survival mechanism. Arguably, what truly sets the West apart in its obesity rates is a diet high in ultra-processed foods (both at restaurants and in grocery stores), which are undeniably contributing to the present crisis. In recent decades, some of the most popular food items in the West have been redesigned to be saltier, sweeter and easier to chew. Add in a working population that’s tired, stressed out and strapped for time, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has declared obesity an emergency and has vowed to fix it as president-elect Donald Trump’s health secretary – assuming his appointment is confirmed by the Senate. He’s convinced that Americans can beat the problem by simply eating better. Politicians and medical professionals have been preaching the benefits of a healthier diet for years now. No one seems to be listening. But there is another issue: eating well costs money. The U.S. map of “food deserts” – areas where it’s hard to find affordable fresh and nutritious foods – almost directly overlaps with low-income areas in the country. The period of record inflation the world recently went through has only exacerbated the affordability problem.

The U.S. government recently introduced the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act, which would recognize obesity as a disease and cover the costs of weight-loss drugs for people who are overweight. Right now, Americans who are taking these drugs are spending an average of US$1,000 a month. Mr. Kennedy argues that if everyone eligible took the government up on its offer, it would cost the Treasury Department US$3-trillion a year. His idea is to scrap that proposed plan and use one-fifth of the money to provide every man, woman and child in America with food that is nutritious. He calls this “food as medicine.”

It will be fascinating to see where this all ends. Mr. Kennedy has vowed to take on “Big Pharma” and stanch the supply of prescription drugs flooding the American market. But in his quest, he’d also need to take on some of the world’s largest food producers and distributors, and he’ll have to convince everyday Americans to adopt entirely new diets. Should be quite the fight – one I’m not sure Mr. Kennedy is going to win.