President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to create a special Presidential Commission to investigate the “sharp rise in chronic illnesses and health problems, especially among children.”
The most recent data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that an estimated 129 million people in the U.S. have at least one major chronic disease (eg, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, hypertension).
Of those with one chronic disease, 42 percent have two or more chronic diseases and 12 percent have at least five chronic diseases.
Furthermore, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) projects that the number of individuals aged 50 years and older with at least one chronic disease is estimated to increase by 99.5 percent from 71.522 million in 2020 to 142.66 million by 2050.
When it comes to chronic diseases among children, the CDC estimates that more than 40 percent of school-aged children and adolescents in the nation have at least one chronic condition.
In a video published by his presidential campaign in June 2023, Trump raised concerns with the “decades-long increase in chronic illnesses,” specifically when it comes to Big Pharma’s role in the trend.
“Every year, we spend hundreds of billions of dollars to treat these chronic problems rather than looking at what is causing them in the first place,” Trump explained. “Too often, our public health establishment is too close to Big Pharma—they make a lot of money, Big Pharma—big corporations, and other special interests, and does not want to ask the tough questions about what is happening to our children’s health.”
“If Big Pharma defrauds American patients and taxpayers or puts profits above people, they must be investigated and held accountable,” Trump added.
Trump said he will create a Presidential Commission charged with “investigating what is causing the decades-long increase in chronic illnesses.”
The Commission will then be instructed by Trump to publish recommendations based on findings from its investigation for how “every American child can have a safe and healthy childhood.”
“This is a conversation that is long overdue—and it’s a conversation that American families deserve. American families must have this conversation, and they must have a leader—a president—who can do something about this problem. And I will do that,” Trump said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
