RFK Jr.'s Public Health Plan? Get Every American to Buy a Wearable Device
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants everyone to wear a smartwatch, fitness tracker, or other piece of wearable health tech as part of his "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) agenda.
"My vision is every American is wearing a wearable within four years," he told a House subcommittee today. "It's a way of people taking control over their own health. They can take responsibility. They can see...what food is doing to their glucose levels, their heart rates, and a number of other metrics as they eat it."
It's the same message Kennedy put out a month ago when he met with several health tech CEOs, including the heads of Whoop, Function Health, knownwell, Talkiatry, Season Health, Turquoise Health, and Hippocratic AI, according to STAT reporter Mario Aguilar.
These companies stand to benefit from a government-backed push for Americans to buy their products, and Kennedy plans to soon kick off "one of the biggest advertising campaigns in HHS history to encourage Americans to use wearables," he told House lawmakers today.
Wearables are growing rapidly. These days, they do far more than track steps; they monitor vitals, sleep, and nutrition. Many wearables can also detect serious conditions like atrial fibrillation (AFib). Last fall, the Federal Drug Administration approved Apple's addition of sleep apnea monitoring to the Apple Watch. Earlier this year, the company launched the Apple Health Study, "to further understand how technology—including iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods—can play a role in advancing and improving physical health, mental health, and overall wellbeing."
Wearables could outsource some of the burden of monitoring the public's health to private companies and individuals rather than through government programs. However, that comes with personal data-collection risks, depending on how HHS and Kennedy plan to use or monitor a wearables-focused program. (CBS News reports that Kennedy plans to use data from personal fitness trackers and smartwatches to study autism.)
Kennedy, meanwhile, is also planning major job cuts, promising to "save taxpayers an estimated $1.8 billion per year through a reduction in workforce," according to his prepared testimony. "Our reductions have focused on matching HHS staffing levels to the size of HHS prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw an approximate 15% increase in the number of employees," he says.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
25 minutes ago
- New York Post
RFK Jr. wants every American to use ‘wearable' health data-collecting technology
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. wants all Americans to use 'wearable' technology to track their health as part of his 'MAHA' agenda. The Kennedy-clan strongman revealed his agency's plan Tuesday for a massive push for Americans — who have an obesity rate of 40% — to use wearable data-collecting technology such as FitBits, Oura Rings, and Apple Watches, to promote healthier lifestyles. 'We're about to launch the biggest advertising campaign in HHS history to encourage Americans to use wearables,' Kennedy said in a House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing on Tuesday. Advertisement 3 Robert Kennedy Jr. said he wants all Americans to use 'wearable' technology to track their health as part of his 'MAHA' agenda. X / @SecKennedy 'It's a way people can take control over their own health. They can take responsibility. They can see, as you know, what food is doing to their glucose levels, their heart rates, and a number of other metrics, as they eat it,' the secretary said in the statement, which was also posted to X. 'We think that wearables are a key to the MAHA agenda of making America healthy again and my vision is that every American is wearing a wearable in four years,' he concluded. Advertisement Kennedy expressed the belief that with accurate and timely health data, Americans will exert better judgment in their diet and will even opt for more exercise. The Trump official has previously argued during his Senate confirmation hearing that obesity in the United States poses a national security risk affecting military readiness. 3 Close up of a hand touching a smartwatch with a health app on the screen, a gadget for a fitness active lifestyle. sitthiphong – President Trump's nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Casey Means, is also an advocate for wearable Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) products. Advertisement In a blog post for her own CGM-producing company, Levels, Means argued that the 'small plastic discs' can 'reduce global metabolic suffering' and provide much-needed help to the '93.2 percent of people' in the US suffering from metabolic issues. Means' Levels technology attaches to the users' arms and sends accurate, second-by-second metabolic data to their smartphone. 3 A diabetic woman with a glucose sensor uses a mobile phone to measure her blood sugar level. Pixel-Shot – Advertisement Kennedy revealed last week that coffee giant Starbucks will make MAHA-inspired amendments to its menu — though the company already avoids artificial flavors, dyes, high fructose corn syrup, and other unhealthy additives. RFK Jr. took his first pound of flesh off of Americans earlier this year when he outlawed the use of artificial dyes in American food products.
Medscape
an hour ago
- Medscape
Rapid Review Quiz: Wearable Health Tech
As wearable health technology becomes more sophisticated and accessible, its impact on disease detection, chronic condition management, and preventive care is growing rapidly. From smartwatches that flag abnormal heart rhythms to headbands that analyze sleep stages and wristbands that monitor blood pressure around the clock, these devices are reshaping the landscape of modern healthcare. However, clinical accuracy can vary significantly across devices. How well do you understand the strengths and shortcomings of these wearable health devices? Check your knowledge with this quick quiz. The Apple Watch is US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for over-the-counter use as ECG software to help detect cardiac arrhythmias. In May 2024, the FDA qualified Apple's Atrial Fibrillation History Feature as a Medical Device Development Tool (MDDT). This makes it the first over-the-counter wearable tech accepted under the MDDT program for estimating AF burden in clinical research. The feature might serve as a biomarker to evaluate cardiac interventions, such as ablation therapies, during clinical trials. A new meta-analysis shows that the Apple Watch ECG has high sensitivity and specificity for AF detection compared to standard ECGs. However, expert guidelines and the study itself recommend that providers use the Apple Watch ECG as a screening tool, not for definitive diagnosis. Any positive or suspicious result should be confirmed with a standard 12-lead ECG, which remains the criterion standard for AF diagnosis and can detect other arrhythmias. Choosing to use the Apple Watch ECG as the sole diagnostic tool ignores its limitations and the need for comprehensive evaluation, potentially missing important cardiac conditions. Advising against all use of the device would overlook its value for early and convenient AF screening, especially in at-risk or hard-to-reach populations. Replacing standard ECGs entirely with the Apple Watch is not supported because the Apple Watch cannot provide the full range of diagnostic information. Learn more about AF. A clinical trial showed that after 3 months of using the Dexcom G6, participants had notable improvements in glycemic control. Usage remained high throughout the study, with 91% completing the full 90-day period and wearing the sensor 88% of the time. Compared to fingerstick monitoring, CGM users had lower average glucose levels (184.0-147.2 mg/dL), better time in range (58%-83%), and slight improvements in glucose variability. Additional health benefits included reductions in A1c, BMI, blood pressure (BP), cholesterol, and a lower estimated 10-year cardiovascular risk. Real-world data also confirmed that patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes using CGM for 12 months saw continued improvement in glycemic control, especially when using alert features. This was confirmed in a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, which concluded that feedback from CGM positively affects glycemic control in adults, regardless of diabetes status. In March 2024, the FDA approved Dexcom's Stelo Glucose Biosensor System, the first over-the-counter CGM, designed for adults with type 2 diabetes not using insulin and for the general public interested in tracking glucose patterns related to lifestyle factors. Learn more about CGM. The Dreem headband uses portable EEG and motion detection for home-based sleep tracking. A recent study comparing Dreem to polysomnography (PSG) (the criterion standard for detailed sleep analysis) found mixed accuracy across sleep metrics. Total sleep time and sleep efficiency aligned closely with PSG results due to the device's ability to detect sleep-wake transitions via movement. However, REM sleep was overestimated by about 25 minutes. Overestimating REM could delay detection of disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and depression (in which sleep disruptions are linked), making the Dreem less reliable for clinical diagnoses that require precise REM data. Although the device shows potential for general sleep monitoring at home, its limitations (especially in identifying REM) suggest that further validation and algorithm refinement are needed, particularly for use in older adults and people with neurodegenerative conditions. Learn more about sleep EEG. A new meta-analysis concluded that wearable activity tracker-based interventions significantly increased daily step counts in older adults compared to usual care (such as prescribed physical activity), highlighting their potential to boost physical activity in this population. Higher step counts are linked to lower cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality and reduced frailty risk. The interventions did not significantly improve BMI or functional mobility (Timed Up and Go test) or reduce sedentary time. These outcomes might require longer interventions or additional components such as dietary changes or targeted exercises. Learn more about risk factors for coronary artery disease. Hilo, formerly known as Aktiia (Neuchâtel, Switzerland) is a wearable device that measures BP continuously without a cuff, using optical sensors in a wrist-worn bracelet. It has received regulatory approval in the European Union and Canada. A new study found that Hilo (Aktiia) closely matched ABPM readings during daytime and across a full 24-hour cycle. However, it consistently recorded higher systolic BP at night, indicating reduced accuracy during sleep. It nonetheless captured overall nighttime dipping trends. No major discrepancies were found in daytime readings, and claims of inaccuracy during the day were unfounded. The device also did not show overestimation across all periods, only at night. Furthermore, it successfully tracked dipping patterns, supporting its use with some caution for nighttime data interpretation. Learn more about BP assessment.
Miami Herald
2 hours ago
- Miami Herald
5 surprising stats on alcohol use disorder
5 surprising stats on alcohol use disorder Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a serious and often misunderstood condition affecting millions of people in the United States. Despite alcohol's cultural normalization, AUD contributes to a staggering number of deaths each year and poses a major public health threat. Stigma, misinformation, and a lack of access to care continue to obscure who is affected, the role of co-occurring mental health conditions, and what treatment and recovery can look like. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 178,000 people die each year from excessive alcohol use. These deaths stem both from the effects of chronic alcohol use, including conditions like liver disease, heart disease, and certain cancers, and from acute consequences of binge drinking, such as motor vehicle crashes, overdoses, alcohol poisoning, and suicide. Alcohol-related death statistics Alcohol-related deaths are also rising. Between 2016 and 2021, deaths linked to alcohol increased by 29%, according to the CDC. This jump reflects a 27% increase in alcohol-related deaths among boys and men, and a 35% increase among girls and women, though men still account for a higher total number of deaths. The data underscores a concerning trend: excessive drinking, whether chronic or episodic, is becoming increasingly deadly across all demographics. The financial toll of alcohol use is also massive. According to federal estimates, substance misuse costs the U.S. about $740 billion each year in areas like lost productivity and healthcare. Alcohol use alone accounts for $249 billion of that total, including $27 billion in direct healthcare costs. To better understand the scope of this crisis, Charlie Health examined some of the most striking AUD statistics, from rising rates of alcohol misuse to the possible genetic components of AUD. We also share how people struggling with substance use disorder (SUD), including AUD, can access compassionate, evidence-based care. 1. Just over one in 10 Americans struggles with AUD According to the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), just over one in 10 people age 12 or older (10.6%) had AUD in the past year. That amounts to 29.5 million people. While this staggering number highlights how common AUD is across all age groups, there are some populations that are more at risk than others. The percentage of people who had AUD in the past year was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25, about 1 in 7 of whom (15%) struggled with the condition, according to the SAMHSA (that's 5 million people). 2. Teens with depression might be more likely to struggle with alcohol misuse Data consistently shows that mental health and alcohol misuse are closely linked, especially during adolescence, a critical period for emotional development and risk-taking behaviors. According to the SAMHSA, teens ages 12 to 17 who had a major depressive episode in the past year were more than twice as likely to binge drink than those who didn't (6.7% compared to 3.1%, respectively). SAMHSA defines binge drinking as consuming more than four or five alcoholic drinks within a couple of hours on at least one day in the past month. 3. Adults with mental health conditions might binge drink at higher rates Similar links between mental health conditions and alcohol misuse are seen among adults. SAMHSA data shows that adults with mental health conditions were more likely to binge drink alcohol than those without. In fact, over half of adults with any or a serious mental health condition were binge drinkers compared to just 21% of those without a mental health condition. 4. There might be genetic risk factors for AUD Recent genetic research has begun to identify specific genetic variants linked to addiction risk. The 2023 study discovered 19 DNA changes affecting overall addiction susceptibility, including nine tied specifically to alcohol. Understanding these genetic factors may pave the way for more targeted and effective treatments. 5. Most people with SUDs don't get the treatment they need Despite how common substance use disorders (SUDs) are, most people who need care don't get it. In 2023, an estimated 54.2 million people needed treatment - but only 23% received it, according to American Addiction Centers. This treatment gap highlights not just the scale of the crisis, but the systemic barriers - like stigma, cost, and limited access - that continue to prevent people from getting help. Expanding access to affordable, evidence-based care is essential. This story was produced by Charlie Health and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. Stacker Media, LLC.
