That motto drives the Trump administration’s efforts to “re-direct” the nation’s approach to public health crises. Headed by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the campaign focuses on a preventative approach to health, especially within nutrition. Experts have criticized the framework, arguing many of the initiatives the health secretary supports are based on misinformation. Regardless, the Beehive State has been notably responsive to Kennedy’s push with a slate of legislation aligned with the MAHA commission’s goals passing in this year’s general session.
Within Utah’s existing political landscape, alongside time and partisan pressures, University of Utah political science associate professor Phillip Singer said Utah has the “perfect storm” gearing it up to lead the nation in embracing the movement.
Public Health Policy in Utah
Earlier this year, Utah lawmakers passed the nation’s first statewide ban on fluoride in public drinking water, despite criticism from dentists and health organizations. Kennedy has made clear his intentions to restrict water fluoridation, even before the 2024 presidential election. He has since urged other states to adopt Utah’s example.
State leaders also gave the green light to restrictions on additives in school lunches and the use of food stamps to purchase candy and soda, aligning with the health secretary’s push to target ultra-processed foods.
Singer said Utah’s recent moves aren’t new ideas, as similar but smaller-scale regulations have come up in other areas throughout the U.S.
“I think where it is unique as it relates to Utah is just like the breadth of these types of policies being done at the state level,” Singer said. “Not having opting-in and opting-out type programs, which other states, other cities, other counties, have done those sorts of things.”
These blanket approaches have earned praise from Kennedy, who visited Utah earlier this month. Some lawmakers are proud to champion the MAHA movement, too. At a news conference during Kennedy’s visit, Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz said, “While other states are just talking about the solutions, Utah is actually implementing and creating the solutions.”
But whether or not these reforms will make a major difference is unclear, according to Kimberley Shoaf, professor of public health at the U. She said she anticipates the fluoride ban harming public health overall, but the other regulations will have neither “a very positive or negative impact directly on the health of anybody.”
What Makes Utah Embrace the MAHA Agenda?
“Make America Healthy Again, on its face, is difficult to argue against,” Singer said. “Who wants people to be unhealthy?”
Public health isn’t normally at the forefront of politicians’ efforts, according to Singer. He said they tend to focus on problems that are more evident to the population. And as Shoaf explained, public health functions in the background.
“Nobody knows that we exist unless we fail,” Shoaf said. “As long as we’re doing our job, you don’t know we exist.”
Pressure to align with party ideology could be bumping public health to the top of Utah legislators’ priority list, Singer said.
“It’s a very Republican state,” he said. “It’s not terribly difficult for these types of policies to work [their] way through our legislature.”
He added that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints plays a big role, too, as most policymakers are members of the faith.
“Their Word of Wisdom really emphasizes healthy living,” Singer said. “It’s about having healthy bodies, and you should eat grains and fruits and vegetables and all of these other sorts of things. I think that is also an element of kind of why it resonates with elected officials.”
Utah also has a healthier population. The United Health Foundation ranked it the sixth healthiest state in the nation in its 2024 Annual Report. Singer said that could make the state more perceptive to the “Make America Healthy Again” framing, even though it is “clinically nuanced.”
