Latest news with #DepartmentOfHealthAndHumanServices
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Officials warn the next opioid epidemic could come from substance sold at vape shops for less $10
Public health experts and officials have trained their sights on a new vape shop staple they fear could spur the next wave of the opioid epidemic. Department of Health and Human Services made a formal proposal to the DEA to classify 7-OH, a component of the pain reliever kratom, as a Schedule 1 substance, alongside heroin, LSD, and other drugs with no accepted medical use. While natural kratom contains only trace amounts of 7-OH, manufacturers have begun chemically isolating and concentrating it into a synthetic opioid-like drug estimated to be 10 to 13 times more potent than morphine. These ultra-potent extracts, often sold as gummies, shots and pills, now flood gas stations and vape shops with spotty age restrictions. FDA Commissioner Dr Marty Makary said: 'Vape stores are popping up in every neighborhood in America, and many are selling addictive products like concentrated 7-OH. After the last wave of the opioid epidemic, we cannot get caught flat-footed again.' The FDA's move was quickly followed by the Florida state attorney general James Uthmeier's decision to ban selling, having, or sharing 7-OH altogether, citing an 'immediate danger to the public health, safety and welfare.' The announcement makes Florida the first state to ban products containing 7-OH, which could set off a nationwide domino effect with more and more states following suit. 7-OH is a relative newcomer, and data on deaths are not well documented, but poison control center reports suggest it is growing rapidly more popular. The Pennsylvania Department of Health issued a warning earlier this month about it, noting 'increased call volume around both kratom and 7-OH consumption.' Pressed about 7-OH overdose risks, Makary cited scarce data and doctors' inability to identify it, while still calling the compound a 'killer,' far deadlier than plain kratom. The federal government has not tracked any deaths due to 7-OH specifically, though at least one has occurred. Matthew Torres, a 39-year-old Oregon carpenter, died from violent seizures in May 2021 after using kratom to manage chronic pain. His girlfriend found him foaming at the mouth at their Beavercreek home. The coroner ruled his death was caused by 'toxic effects of mitragynine (7-OH).' His mother Mary Torres is now pursuing a $10M wrongful death lawsuit against the smoke shop that sold it, alleging they failed to warn about risks. Jordan McKibban, 37, died in 2022 after consuming kratom powder purchased from an organic store, believing it to be a natural pain remedy. His death certificate listed 'toxic effects of mitragynine (kratom)' as the cause. Kratom has been used traditionally in Southeast Asia for centuries, and commercially sold in the US for decades as dried leaves or powders. Many states have different laws about the sale of kratom, limiting it to people either 18 and up or 21 and up. No federal age restrictions exist for 7-OH sales. Enforcement relies entirely on individual businesses. Most vendors voluntarily require ID for customers to confirm they are 18 and up or 21 and up, but this isn't mandated by law. 'We're not targeting the kratom leaf or ground-up kratom,' Makary said. 'We are targeting a concentrated synthetic byproduct that is an opioid.' While 7-OH is naturally present in small amounts from 0.6 percent to 0.7 percent on average in kratom leaves, modern extraction techniques have made it possible to create highly concentrated products, including shots, pills, and gummies. 7-OH tablets, for example, are pre-measured dosage forms containing concentrated amounts of the compound, typically ranging from 5mg to 22mg per tablet. An FDA-led report on 7-OH cited mounting research showing the extract acts like an opioid, hijacking the same brain receptors as morphine or prescription painkillers. In multiple experiments, 7-OH triggered strong 'mu-opioid' effects, the same pathway targeted by drugs like oxycodone, often with 13 times the potency of morphine and nearly double the strength of kratom's primary compound, mitragynine. When tested on cells and animal tissue, 7-OH behaved like a full opioid agonist, meaning it does not just mildly activate these receptors; it switches them on entirely, setting the stage for repeat, problem use in the future. The FDA's report added that 7-OH's effects were reversed with the anti-overdose nasal spray naloxone. Florida AG Uthmeier cited the FDA's findings in his decision to schedule the substance. He said: 'We are taking emergency action now because we see immediate danger. Last week the FDA commissioner issued a warning about 7-OH, putting people on notice to the dangers, calling on states to observe and take action where necessary. 'So here in Florida, we are not going to rest on our laurels. We move fast. We want to help lead the way when it comes to public safety.' By designating the potent kratom extracts as Schedule I drugs, the state now ranks them alongside heroin, LSD, and illegal fentanyl, deeming them equally dangerous with zero medical value. The emergency rule grants law enforcement and regulators immediate authority to raid gas stations and smoke shops statewide, seizing the products. Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, appearing alongside Uthmeier, told business owners to 'get it off your shelves.' 'We are going to be very aggressive,' he added. Makary, in turn, celebrated Uthmeier's decision in 'fighting back and educating Floridian parents, law enforcement professionals, teachers and community leaders about this threat to public health.' He added: 'I encourage other states to act now and use common sense regulation to safeguard the well-being of our youth and Make America Healthy Again.' Florida's decision to explicitly ban 7-OH is unprecedented, though several other states, including Colorado, Mississippi, Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah have different restrictions on the concentration of 7-OH in the products. 'I am very supportive of people seeking alternatives outside of traditional Western medicine for wellness,' Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said. 'Our problem here is not with kratom. The problem today is with 7-OH. We don't need any more substances that disconnect people from reality.'
The Guardian
12-08-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on RFK Jr's vaccine cuts: an assault on science from a politician unfit for his office
Science is not black and white. It's more complicated and more exciting. It's a constant process of exploration. An adventure into the unknown. Scientists come up with theories about what might be going on, and then test them. They don't always get it right. Far from it. But inch by inch, testing, failing and trying again, they make progress. Robert F Kennedy Jr, during Senate confirmation hearings for the role of secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), seemed to get that. Those who feared what a vaccine sceptic might do in that role breathed again. 'I'm going to empower the scientists at HHS to do their job and make sure that we have good science that is evidence based … I'm not going to substitute my judgment for science,' he said. Yet now, without good explanation or sound science, he is cutting $500m of research funding for mRNA vaccines, claiming that they 'fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like Covid and flu'. In fact, no Covid vaccine fully protects against infection, but they have been shown to prevent deaths in billions of people. The 22 contracts that will be cancelled include one with Moderna for a vaccine against bird flu, which many fear could trigger the next human pandemic (and there will be one). Instead, federal funds will go to vaccines developed in more traditional ways. Either Mr Kennedy lied to Congress or he has a different understanding of science and evidence from most scientists, unpicking what they thought was uncontestable. The childhood vaccine schedule is being reconsidered, and mandating the measles vaccine is being questioned in spite of fatal outbreaks in the US. He has sacked the Centers for Disease Control vaccine advisory panel and replaced it with many people known to have sceptical views. Mr Kennedy is particularly hostile to the mRNA vaccines against Covid-19, panning them in 2021 as the 'deadliest vaccines in history', wrongly claiming that half those suffering the rare side-effect of myocarditis would die or need heart transplants within five years. The vast majority have quickly recovered. Until 2023, he chaired an anti-vaccine organisation called Children's Health Defense, where he petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to rescind the licence of all Covid-19 vaccines and compared mandating vaccines to Nazi oppression in the second world war. This is the stuff of internet scares; labyrinthine tangles of misinformation dotted with odd inaccurate nuggets of quasi-science. It doesn't compare with the evidence base for mRNA vaccines, which went through clinical trials on hundreds of thousands of people and have since been used to vaccinate billions. Experts agree that the mRNA vaccines were a stunning breakthrough that allowed people to be protected in record time from Covid-19. They contain messenger RNA, a tiny bit of genetic code that teaches the immune system to fight the virus. No need to grow the virus in hen's eggs, which takes months. The 'plug and play' technology can be adapted against other viruses, such as flu, including some that devastate populations in poor countries. The inventors won the Nobel prize in 2023. Mr Kennedy's cancellation of funding not only stymies much research but also feeds worldwide doubt in mRNA vaccines. We are all the losers. Humanity needs these vaccines. Other countries need to step up with money and reassurance to try to heal this latest breach between science and nonsense. And Mr Kennedy is clearly unfit for the job he holds. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
The Guardian
11-08-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on RFK Jr's vaccine cuts: an assault on science from a politician unfit for his office
Science is not black and white. It's more complicated and more exciting. It's a constant process of exploration. An adventure into the unknown. Scientists come up with theories about what might be going on, and then test them. They don't always get it right. Far from it. But inch by inch, testing, failing and trying again, they make progress. Robert F Kennedy Jr, during Senate confirmation hearings for the role of secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), seemed to get that. Those who feared what a vaccine sceptic might do in that role breathed again. 'I'm going to empower the scientists at HHS to do their job and make sure that we have good science that is evidence based … I'm not going to substitute my judgment for science,' he said. Yet now, without good explanation or sound science, he is cutting $500m of research funding for mRNA vaccines, claiming that they 'fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like Covid and flu'. In fact, no Covid vaccine fully protects against infection, but they have been shown to prevent deaths in billions of people. The 22 contracts that will be cancelled include one with Moderna for a vaccine against bird flu, which many fear could trigger the next human pandemic (and there will be one). Instead, federal funds will go to vaccines developed in more traditional ways. Either Mr Kennedy lied to Congress or he has a different understanding of science and evidence from most scientists, unpicking what they thought was uncontestable. The childhood vaccine schedule is being reconsidered, and mandating the measles vaccine is being questioned in spite of fatal outbreaks in the US. He has sacked the Centers for Disease Control vaccine advisory panel and replaced it with many people known to have sceptical views. Mr Kennedy is particularly hostile to the mRNA vaccines against Covid-19, panning them in 2021 as the 'deadliest vaccines in history', wrongly claiming that half those suffering the rare side-effect of myocarditis would die or need heart transplants within five years. The vast majority have quickly recovered. Until 2023, he chaired an anti-vaccine organisation called Children's Health Defense, where he petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to rescind the licence of all Covid-19 vaccines and compared mandating vaccines to Nazi oppression in the second world war. This is the stuff of internet scares; labyrinthine tangles of misinformation dotted with odd inaccurate nuggets of quasi-science. It doesn't compare with the evidence base for mRNA vaccines, which went through clinical trials on hundreds of thousands of people and have since been used to vaccinate billions. Experts agree that the mRNA vaccines were a stunning breakthrough that allowed people to be protected in record time from Covid-19. They contain messenger RNA, a tiny bit of genetic code that teaches the immune system to fight the virus. No need to grow the virus in hen's eggs, which takes months. The 'plug and play' technology can be adapted against other viruses, such as flu, including some that devastate populations in poor countries. The inventors won the Nobel prize in 2023. Mr Kennedy's cancellation of funding not only stymies much research but also feeds worldwide doubt in mRNA vaccines. We are all the losers. Humanity needs these vaccines. Other countries need to step up with money and reassurance to try to heal this latest breach between science and nonsense. And Mr Kennedy is clearly unfit for the job he holds.
RNZ News
11-08-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Measles outbreak in US prompts questions over Robert F Kennedy Junior's mixed messages on vaccination
By Kamin Gock, ABC North America correspondent The Department of Health and Human Services has undergone radical changes under RFK Jr's leadership. Photo: ALEX WONG / AFP US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has regularly told Americans they should not take medical advice from him. "My opinions about vaccines are irrelevant," he told Congress in May. But under his watch a vaccine-preventable disease has continued to spread, with more than 1,300 cases in 40 states. The measles outbreak that began amongst a rural West Texas Mennonite community with a low vaccine uptake has so far resulted in three confirmed deaths across the country. "We're fully on track for losing our elimination status," Dr Noel Brewer told Australia's current affairs program 7.30 . "We're having a meltdown around measles in the United States right now, it is a full crisis." Dr Brewer is one of seven experts who determine whether the United States has maintained elimination over a 12-month period. Dr Noel Brewer says the current measles outbreak is a "complete and utter failure of public health". Photo: ABC News / Cameron Schwarz The status means there is no spread of the disease within the country and new cases are only found when someone contracts it abroad and returns it to the US. "It may be that we haven't quite hit the technical mark, but we have so many cases right now that it seems almost impossible that we have not lost elimination," Dr Brewer said. "It's a complete and utter failure of public health for us to lose our elimination status for a vaccine-preventable disease." According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "one to three out of every 1000 children who become infected with measles will die from respiratory and neurologic complications". "There definitely has been issues with under-reporting and a lot of the measles outbreaks have been in communities that may have hesitation about seeking medical care and so that leads to under-reporting," epidemiologist Dr Zack Moore said. Epidemiologist Dr Zack Moore says measles is a "major killer of children". Photo: ABC News / Cameron Schwarz "Measles is generally considered to be the most infectious virus out there … globally it's a major killer of children." Ninety-two per cent of those who have been infected in the US are unvaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown. "When you get introduction into a community that has lower vaccination rates, it's kind of dry kindling and the spark can really take off and start a fire," Dr Moore said. The rapid spread of the disease has led to questions around RFK Jr's response to the outbreak as he has publicly recommended a mix of treatments. Secretary Kennedy has publicly endorsed the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine but has also called it a "leaky vaccine" that wanes and falsely stated it hasn't been "safety tested". "We are recommending that [MMR vaccine] at this point but we're also doing studies on it," he told Dr Phil Primetime in April. Secretary Kennedy has called the MMR vaccine a 'leaky vaccine'. Photo: Tom Lee / Stuff He has stated health officials are delivering Vitamin A to communities and "getting very good results from it" as well as promoting the use of the steroid Budesonide and antibiotic Clarithromycin. The 71-year-old, who has a long history of disparaging a range of vaccines, has also said cod liver oil is a potential remedy for the disease. "There's always some half-truths sometimes to this," infectious disease expert Dr Cameron Wolfe told 7.30 . "There is good data that supports supplementing Vitamin A in outbreaks of measles for kids in developing countries where Vitamin A deficiency is much more rife than it is in the United States. "The extrapolation however to put that on a level conversation with vaccines as a way of curbing an outbreak that's already happening is where the problem occurs. "It's the way that we have conversations that put those on a level playing field, which I think is actually even more dangerous because it undermines vaccines indirectly, which is a little more insidious." Dr Cameron Wolfe is concerned about the US government's messaging around the measles vaccine. Photo: ABC News / Cameron Schwarz Too much Vitamin A can be toxic and can lead to various health conditions. "We've heard ho-hum endorsements but not really full-throated endorsements, and those questioning approaches that sort of slyly suggest there might be something wrong have a big effect on regular Americans," Dr Brewer said. Dr Brewer was also a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) until he and 16 others were abruptly fired by RFK Jr . "All of us heard about it through an editorial in the Wall Street Journal ," Dr Brewer said. "It was shocking to receive a notification from the government that I've been fired from a position that is a non-political position." The ACIP comprises medical and public health experts who develop recommendations on the use of vaccines such as the dosage, demographic and age. RFK Jr has effectively halved the size of the board and hand-picked new appointees - some of whom have a history of vaccine scepticism. "We're going to bring people onto the ACIP panel, not anti-vaxxers, we're bringing people on who are credentialed scientists," he said in June. In his WSJ editorial, the health secretary claimed that the ACIP members had too many conflicts of interest and had become "little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine". Dr Yvonne Maldonado, a professor of global health and infectious diseases at Stanford University, was also fired from the ACIP and disputes these claims. "We don't rubber stamp," she said. "The secretary doesn't seem to understand the process because it actually takes hundreds and hundreds of hours of many people's time to review vaccines well before they come up for a vote. "To say that it's a rubber stamp really demonstrates a lack of understanding of what the process is." RFK Jr fired 17 members of the vaccine advisory panel and hand-picked new appointees. Photo: AFP / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds Dr Maldonado said she was shocked by the pace at which Secretary Kennedy overhauled the board. "When you remove an entire committee, you've left no institutional memory, no institutional history and so there's really nobody there to carry on the agenda … that had existed before that time." Dr Brewer believes that may have been RFK Jr's objective. "There was an interest in changing the direction of the ACIP to be more vaccine sceptical and they've been successful in accomplishing that," he said. The overhauled vaccine advisory panel is already moving in a different direction and intends to review the impacts of the entire childhood vaccination schedule in the US. The newly appointed chair has also said the group intends to look into possible changes to access for the Hepatitis B vaccine and a chickenpox vaccine that combines protection with the MMR vaccine. It's also recently recommended the removal of a mercury-based preservative, thimerosal, from flu vaccines. The Health Secretary has adopted this recommendation. For two decades RFK Jr has made misleading and inaccurate claims about thimerosal. In 2014 he wrote a book alleging it likely caused autism and should be banned. The health agencies he now controls have found these claims to be unfounded. "This action fulfils a long-overdue promise to protect our most vulnerable populations from unnecessary mercury exposure," Secretary Kennedy said. "Injecting any amount of mercury into children when safe, mercury-free alternatives exist defies common sense and public health responsibility." Thimerosal has been used since the 1930s to prevent microbial growth and "there is no evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site", according to the CDC website. The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) also states "a robust body of peer-reviewed scientific studies conducted in the US and other countries support the safety of thimerosal-containing vaccines". The FDA website states that the amount of elemental mercury contained in vaccines with thimerosal is roughly the same as "a 3 ounce [85 grams] can of tuna fish". "I believe in a healthy scientific debate, I think that's good, and we want people to ask questions about vaccines … but the problem here is that these debates have already been settled with a great deal of evidence and expense," Dr Brewer said. "We've already established that [thimerosal is] safe … and yet there's this whole long meeting about it that was not evidence-based and not productive so the US now will not include thimerosal in vaccines and there's no good reason for it. "We need to not be rehashing all this old stuff and replacing it with misinformation and lies." RFK Jr says he is "pro-safety and pro-good science" and rejects the label of "anti-vax" but has for years promoted the debunked claim that vaccines could cause autism and reiterated that theory as recently as June in a podcast interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. "The fact that someone in that position would continue to roll out that information is abhorrent," Dr Wolfe said. "It builds this negative image of vaccines which is factually incorrect. "Ever since a guy called [Andrew] Wakefield published a paper now 25 years ago to suggest that that link existed … countless large multi-million person studies have then looked to say, let's prove that and have proven that wrong." Mr Wakefield's 1998 paper was retracted by the publishing journal in 2010 citing the claims in his paper were "proven to be false". He was struck off the British medical register the same year for serious professional misconduct. Dr Wolfe says this disproven claim is a "scare tactic" that takes people away from having important data-driven conversations about balancing risk and safety with getting vaccinated. In April Secretary Kennedy pledged a "massive testing and research effort" to determine the cause of autism by September . "I feel like we're stealing from that community by trying to put money into research on what causes autism with respect to vaccines when we know that vaccines don't cause autism," Dr Brewer said. "Let's put research into either care for folks who have autism to help them function well in society and to live healthy, productive lives or let's do research on whatever causes it and find real causes, not these fake causes." RFK Jr promised to overhaul the American health system, promoting the slogan "Make America Healthy Again". "Trusting the experts is not a feature of science, it's not a feature of democracy, it's a feature of religion and totalitarianism," he told CNN in May. "What we should do is trust the science. We are going to do the science and the science is going to be replicable and its going to be gold standard." In that same interview he explained the value of the experts on the ACIP which he fired the very next month. The health secretary has said he wants to ensure that there is information and treatment options available for all Americans, including those who don't want to get vaccinated. He has described himself as a "freedom-of-choice person". Under his leadership there have been radical changes to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It's reduced its workforce by 20,000 people through lay-offs, early retirements and buyouts. He frequently questions the efficacy and safety of vaccines, in particular mRNA technology, which helped develop coronavirus vaccines during the pandemic. "We need to know what the risk profile is of these products and the benefits and allow parents and physicians to make good choices for public health," he told NBC News. In June he personally directed COVID-19 vaccines no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women . In May he revoked a nearly $US600 million contract to develop an mRNA bird flu vaccine, and last week he cancelled nearly $US500 million worth of mRNA vaccine contracts. Secretary Kennedy defended the move, stating the funding would instead go toward "safer, broader vaccine platforms". "HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them. That's why we're moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions," he said. A measles testing site in Texas in February. Photo: AFP/ Getty Images - Jan Sonnenmair President Donald Trump's former surgeon-general Jerome Adams slammed the decision, claiming some of the health secretary's rhetoric "ignores science and risks lives". "Cutting half a billion in mRNA funding as HHS Sec Kennedy proposes, isn't just bad policy - it's dangerous," Mr Adams said. "We should be doubling down on what works - not defunding it." "What's happening in public health, what's happening in medicine, what is happening in our department of public health is really disturbing and depressing," Dr Brewer said. "They're tearing the entire edifice down." Secretary Kennedy also promised there would be "radical transparency" while he is at the helm. "We have had very little [of that] since the start of this current administration and especially under this new secretary," Dr Maldonado said. "It feels like there are a lot of these policies and philosophies and our procedures have gone by the wayside now and I am worried about how we physicians, as public health officials, as policymakers are going to be able to continue to protect our public's health." Dr Wolfe, who is an Australian that has worked in the United States for the past two decades, says it's now more difficult to find public health information. "It's less clear that the data and where it's sourced from on public websites is as accurate and complete as it once was. It's less clear about future policy decisions … it's less clear about how the FDA is judging vaccine decisions," he said. "It's a nice sort of political appeal to say that you're going to be absolutely transparent and yet I would say that there's been very little of that." Vaccine misinformation and some of these changes within the department are making the job of clinicians harder. "I don't think any blame should be on one person although clearly someone has to be a leader - but there's a lot of people who went along willingly with the creation of the current administration in the way that it is structured," Dr Wolfe said. The US Health Department did not respond to a list of questions but referred 7.30 to a recent press release. "We need vaccines to be boring again … we need it to not be part of the political process however inevitably with this precedent it will be for at least a period of time," Dr Brewer said. - ABC Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Verge
09-08-2025
- Health
- The Verge
RFK Jr. wants a wearable on every American — that future's not as healthy as he thinks
I keep hearing the same sentence repeating in my head. 'My vision is that every American is wearing a wearable within four years.' RFK Jr., our current secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said this at a congressional hearing at the end of June. Wearables, he said, are key to the MAHA — Make America Healthy Again — agenda. Kennedy positioned wearables for Americans as a means of 'taking control' or 'taking responsibility' over their health by monitoring how their lifestyle impacts their metrics. In the hearing, he also cited that his friends had shed pounds and 'lost their diabetes diagnosis' thanks to devices like continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). I'm a wearables expert. I obviously don't hate these devices. My problem with Kennedy's 'wearable for every American' vision is that it lends credence to the idea that everyone benefits from wearable technology. It's not that simple. I started wearing a Fitbit in 2014 to lose weight. I'd mysteriously gained 40 pounds in six months. I started running. Dieting. Obsessively tracking my steps, hitting 10,000 to 15,000 a day, rain or shine. I ate as few as 800 calories while logging 15,000 steps daily — for me, roughly 7.5 miles of walking. The promise of all this data, and what Kennedy is touting, is that people will have actionable data to improve their health. I had a ton of data. I could see things weren't adding up. But the way these products and their apps are designed, I didn't know how to 'take control' of my health. Instead, I continued to gain weight. I cried a lot during that time. So did my mom, who took my sudden aversion to carbohydrates as a personal offense. (How can you not eat bap? Bap is life!!) It didn't matter that I improved at running or that I measured everything with a food scale. Each time I went to my doctors, I'd show them my Fitbit data and beg to be taken seriously. My doctors didn't know what to do with what they were being shown. I also didn't know how to communicate what I was seeing effectively. Instead, they suggested everything from 'you must become a vegan' to 'people with slow metabolisms just have to try harder.' By 2016, I'd put on another 20 pounds and, after three years, was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome — a hormonal condition that often causes weight gain and insulin resistance. Wearables helped me realize something was off, but it was a bumpy ride getting to an answer. That's been true of my overall experience. Sure, this tech helped improve aspects of my health. I'm a much more active person. I went from being unable to run a mile to racing two half-marathons, a handful of 10Ks, and several 5Ks. My sleep is more regular. I went from being a night owl to an early riser. I've watched my resting heart rate decrease from around 75 beats per minute while sleeping to around 55 bpm. My cholesterol is lower. My weight has yo-yoed, but overall, I've been able to maintain a 25-pound weight loss from the 60 pounds I gained from PCOS. And, I've put on more muscle. What I haven't shared quite as publicly is that these improvements came at a heavy cost to my mental health. My first three years with wearables wrecked my relationship with food. Despite diligently tracking my data, I didn't get much by way of results. There also wasn't a ton of guidance on how to apply my data learnings in a healthy way. I ended up hyperfixating on trying anything that hinted at helping me reach my goal. I ended up with disordered eating habits. Food logging is also a prominent feature in these wearable apps, so I meticulously weighed and logged everything I ate for years. If I were even 15 calories over budget, I'd go for a five-minute run around the block to burn 50 calories and get myself back under. I avoided social outings because, when eating out, my calorie logs weren't guaranteed to be accurate. If I weren't making enough progress, I'd punish myself by skipping meals. According to my therapist, I had begun showing mild signs of both orthorexia nervosa and anorexia. I also started developing anxiety about my running performance. If I wasn't improving my VO2 Max or mile times, I was failing. It didn't matter that I'd gone from running 16-minute miles to recording a personal best of 8 minutes, 45 seconds. Any time I became injured, my numbers would go down, and I'd feel like a complete failure. When my father died, I was stuck in a funeral home in the Korean countryside, pacing around in circles so that I wouldn't lose my step streak. Ironically, in a bid to please my wearable overlords, I've ended up injuring myself several times through overexercise in the last decade. I'm okay now, thanks to a lot of work in therapy and the help of my loved ones. But healing isn't a one-and-done kind of thing. Ninety-five percent of the time, I use wearables in a much more reasonable way. I take intentional breaks the other five percent of the time, whenever old habits rear their ugly head. Mine isn't a unique experience. Several studies and reports have found that wearables can increase health anxiety. Anecdotally, when a friend or acquaintance gets a new wearable, I usually get one of two types of messages. The first is an obsessive recounting of their data and all the ways they monitor food intake. The other is a flurry of worried texts asking if their low HRV, heart rate, or some other metric is a sign that they're going to die. Most of these messages come from people who have had a recent health scare, and I usually spend the next hour teaching them how to interpret their baseline data in less absolute terms. And therein lies the rub. These devices overloaded the people in my life with too much information but not enough context. How can anyone effectively 'take control of their health' if they're struggling to understand it? There's never been, nor will there ever be, a one-size-fits-all solution. There's never been, nor will there ever be, a one-size-fits-all solution. That's why I'm skeptical that Kennedy's vision is even feasible. Doctors don't always know how to interpret wearable data. Not only that, it'd be a massive undertaking to give every American a wearable. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of products on the market, and everyone's health needs are unique. Would the government subsidize the cost? Where do health insurance companies, FSAs, and HSAs fit into this picture? So far, all we've heard from Kennedy is that the HHS plans to 'launch one of the biggest advertising campaigns in HHS history' to promote wearable use. But even if Kennedy were to solve this logistical nightmare, I take issue with framing wearables as a necessary component in anyone's health journey. You risk creating scenarios where insurance companies use wearables as a means of lowering or raising premiums, similar to how certain car insurance providers use telematics devices to monitor their customers' driving in exchange for discounts. It sounds good in theory, but it also opens the door to discrimination. Some, but not all, illnesses can be treated or prevented through lifestyle changes. Not everyone will experience the darker side of this tech like I have. But I know that many have, and many more will. Some, like me, will eventually find a healthy balance. For others, the healthiest thing they could do is to avoid wearables. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Victoria Song Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Analysis Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. 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