John F. Kennedy, as President in 1961, was known for advocating health-related perspectives such as exercise, physical well-being, and vaccinations. His younger brother, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., often reminisces on the healthier lifestyle of their youth during the 1950s and 60s when obesity was rare, medication use was low, and instances of diabetes and autism in children were nearly nonexistent.
According to Kennedy Jr., the food in that era was fresh and healthy, contributing to a generally better state of public health. On the other hand, Dr. Steven Woolf, a life expectancy researcher of the same age, recalls other details from that time including the lack of modern safety measures. He mentions driving in cars without seatbelts, lack of infant car seats and airbags, and people smoking indoors such as in restaurants or on airplanes.
Dr. Woolf, professor emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University, acknowledges certain aspects of Kennedy’s comments about the prevailing health scenarios during his youth. However, he notes that Kennedy often disregards vital information, skewing facts, and favoring policies that tend to contradict his expressed emphasis on health.
Kennedy, mirroring President Trump, harkens back to the mid-20th-century as a healthier golden era, as symbolized by the ‘again’ in their ‘Make America Great (and Healthy) Again’ slogans. Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, a history professor at the New School in New York, agrees to some extent, acknowledging that Americans were seemingly healthier then with lesser prevalence of chronic illnesses and processed food.
Professor Petrzela notes that obesity rates are indeed high in today’s America. However, she counters the nostalgia with evidence against the presumption of the mid-20th century being a time of superior public health. She points out that the average life expectancy in 1960 was almost a decade lesser than today, at 69.7 years.
Contrary to Kennedy’s nostalgic viewpoint, chronic diseases were not uncommon in the past. In fact, Dr. Woolf highlights that ‘two out of three deaths in the United States were caused by three chronic diseases: heart disease, cancer, and stroke’ during 1963, disproving the misconception that chronic diseases were negligible during Kennedy’s childhood.
Critical context from that era reveals that health insurance was in its early stages, women were beginning to play a significant role in the labor force, and racial segregation was widespread. These factors greatly impacted public health, particularly for Black Americans whose life expectancy was considerably less, at 63.6 years, in 1960.
Looking at food, while processed foods were not as common as today, there was increasing fascination with science and technology in food production. The era saw the rise of frozen and shelf-stable foods, seen as a show of affluence and modernity. Commercially packaged products like Jell-O, Tang, and early energy bars emerged during this period, fueled by the novelty and convenience they offered.
The foundations of Kennedy’s nostalgia are best understood in the context of the country’s emphasis on physical education during that period. Even before his presidency, Kennedy emphasized the importance of physical fitness for the sake of national security, individual development, and the general progress of the nation.
Kennedy regarded physical fitness as a critical factor for the United States to realize its potential and for its citizens to optimally use their individual capacities. As president, he portrayed exercise as a virtuous act that indicated good citizenship. However, it’s worth noting that certain strategies proposed by Secretary Kennedy contradict major priorities his uncle outlined.
Professor Petrzela points out that Kennedy was a staunch supporter of vaccinations and greatly believed in fresh, large-scale government programs aimed at solving poverty, promoting civil rights, among other initiatives. These perspectives seem at odds with Secretary Kennedy’s current strategies.
Presently, the life expectancy in America has risen to 77.5 years, representing significant progress since the 1960s. However, this increase in life expectancy hasn’t been as fast or as significant as in other similarly wealth countries. To fully understanding this trend, one needs to consider the impact of public health initiatives and new policies that have contributed to considerable improvements.
Advancements in areas like public health and law have saved many lives that would have been lost to lung cancer or car accidents. Life expectancy for Black Americans has also improved, though disparities persist. Currently, the life expectancy for this group is 72.8 years.
Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, a mortality demographer at the University of Minnesota, states that the conditions of Black Americans have significantly improved due to health reforms during the civil rights movement. Additionally, medical innovations, especially in cancer treatment, have also contributed to the rise in life expectancy.
Dr. Woolf explains that chronic diseases have become more prevalent over the years as the leading causes of death transitioned from infectious diseases to non-communicable ones. This shift is largely due to the development of vaccines and antibiotics, which have helped control infectious diseases.
Secretary Kennedy’s approach to these issues often confuses those studying the comparatively shorter life expectancy in the U.S. Despite acknowledging the prevalence of chronic diseases, his actions, like reducing the federal health workforce, don’t necessarily align with his spoken plans to enhance America’s health.