Health
Health and Wellness in the Age of MAHA
Report summary
Politics matters when it comes to health and well being. Americans of different political persuasions live in different information realities, exacerbating disagreements. This extends to many facets of life, including how we define and perceive health and wellness.
The Make America Healthy Again movement, championed by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., aims to tackle many legitimate issues within the American health system, but leans on spurious claims and promotes theories that run counter to scientific research. It’s not surprising that Republicans and Democrats have large variations in determining what factors contribute to health, as well as what they believe are the correct individual and institutional measures to improve health.
Based on a survey of 2,201 U.S. adults, this report illuminates the different information systems and gaps in institutional trust that lead to disagreements about health policy.
Key Takeaways
- Both parties agree on the basics. Eat your vegetables, get some exercise and sleep well: There’s little disagreement that these are the foundations for individual health for most people.
- Controversial issues court disagreement. Fluoride in drinking water, vaccines and milk pasteurization see strong divided opinions by party.
- Polarized media contributes to misinformation. When members of different parties get their information from different media and social algorithms, it’s natural that beliefs diverge, but it also makes some more susceptible to dangerous health decisions.
- There are fundamental disagreements on the role of government institutions. Many public health risks are best managed at a societal level, but strong distrust and individualistic beliefs mean Republicans resist the institutions charged with keeping people safe — though they tend to trust current HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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Methodology
The research featured in this report comes from a survey conducted Feb. 28 - Mar. 2, 2025 among 2,201 respondents.
All survey interviews were conducted online, and the data was weighted to approximate populations of adults based on age, gender, race, educational attainment, region, gender by age and race by educational attainment. Top-line results from the surveys have a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
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