Medical schools nationwide are forcing students to promote left-wing ideologies on race, gender, and obesity at the expense of proper patient care, according to a new watchdog <a href="https://speechfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/CRITICAL-CONDITION_Speech-First-Medical-Schools-Report.pdf">report</a> released on Thursday.
The comprehensive investigation, produced by non-profit group Speech First, examined 54 public medical schools across the United States, seeking to document how &#8220;diversity, equity, and inclusion&#8221; (DEI) mandates are being enforced throughout medical education.
&#8220;This ideological conformity is required not only of students but also of faculty, who are often tasked with serving as enforcers of these mandates,&#8221; the report explains, noting that ideological requirements begin as early as the admissions process.
The report, first <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/medical-schools-nationwide-promote-weight-inclusivity-in-ongoing-dei-push/">obtained</a> by National Review, found that 99% of America&#8217;s top medical schools now “mandated commitments to racial justice ideology,” while 89% “did so for gender ideology.”
The report found 30% of examined schools mandate a form of “weight inclusivity,” instructing future doctors to avoid “fatphobia” despite the <a href="https://newsroom.heart.org/news/obesity-related-cardiovascular-disease-deaths-tripled-between-1999-and-2020">heaps</a> of medical <a href="https://www.who.int/data/gho/indicator-metadata-registry/imr-details/3420">evidence</a> establishing the correlation between obesity and health risks.
These DEI commitments manifest through “mandatory courses, rotations, orientations, statements, and policies,” and even modified Hippocratic Oaths.
As examples, dozens of investigated schools emphasize the impact of white privilege and systematic oppression on medical treatment, and have student guidelines enforcing adherence to a patient’s preferred pronouns rather than their biological sex.
At the University of Texas at Austin, medical students are taught to avoid stigmatizing language, replacing terms like &#8220;overweight&#8221; or &#8220;obese&#8221; with euphemisms such as &#8220;people with larger size,&#8221; while the University of Vermont&#8217;s program explicitly states that &#8220;weight is not an important indicator of health.&#8221;
At the University of Connecticut, for example, medical students must pledge to &#8220;work actively to identify and mitigate my own biases&#8221; and &#8220;specifically work to dismantle policies that perpetuate inequities, exclusion, discrimination, and racism,&#8221; according to documents obtained by Speech First.
The University of Arizona requires students to gain experience in transgender medicine, where students are “instructed that gender transitioning in children is normal, beginning with social changes in pre-adolescence and progressing to puberty-suppressing medications.”
Several harassment policies at medical schools now explicitly prohibit &#8220;misgendering,&#8221; with Oregon Health and Science University classifying it as a form of harassment subject to disciplinary action.
Medical school faculty face similar ideological pressures, as the University of Illinois-Chicago&#8217;s faculty manual states that &#8220;all College of Medicine faculty, regardless of track or rank, are expected to demonstrate a commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.&#8221;
The report identifies multiple cases where medical professionals faced serious professional consequences for questioning these ideologies, including Dr. Allan M. Josephson, who was demoted and ultimately terminated from the University of Louisville after criticizing transitioning treatments for children during a 2017 Heritage Foundation panel despite a “stellar record,” according to the non-profit.
The investigation details how this ideological enforcement begins before the student is even admitted to medical school.
The University of Missouri asks applicants how they will &#8220;contribute to the overall diversity of the medical school&#8221; and &#8220;foster an inclusive learning environment,&#8221; functioning as what Speech First characterizes as a political litmus test.
Students, as well as faculty, who question these mandates risk significant consequences. Kieran Bhattacharya, a former University of Virginia medical student, was banned from campus after questioning a presentation on microaggressions during a 2018 panel. After challenging the concept, he was flagged by faculty as &#8220;antagonistic,&#8221; leading to disciplinary action.
Speech First&#8217;s study found that even the Hippocratic Oath has been modified at several universities, with the University of Connecticut School of Medicine recently updating the oath to reflect an anti-racist narrative.
“I will work actively to identify and mitigate my own biases so as to treat all patients and coworkers with humility and dignity. I will strive to promote health equity. I will actively support policies that promote social justice and specifically work to dismantle policies that perpetuate inequities, exclusion, discrimination, and racism,” the updated oath reads.
The report concludes with recommendations for legislative action, including banning mandatory ideological activism courses and ensuring medical curricula prioritize science-based teachings over politically driven health ideologies.
“If this continues, I’m horrified we’ll get doctors who will shove kids into gender chaos, favor race over health, and lie to obese patients, endangering us all for a deranged fringe,” said Jared Gould, research fellow for Speech First, per National Review.

University of Minnesota White Coat Ceremony, August 2022, Star Tribune photo

Med Schools Replace Medical Merit With Obesity Denial And DEI Doctrine, Watchdog Reports

Censorship

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

gender ideology

medical school

Obesity

Social Issues

U.S.

At a time when the Pentagon is finally waking up to the physical collapse of our armed forces, Texas has a unique opportunity to lead.
In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sounded the alarm with <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4118161/rapid-force-wide-review-of-military-standards/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a directive</a>: Military standards have dangerously eroded. “Our adversaries are not growing weaker,” he wrote. “Our tasks are not growing less challenging.”
He ordered a department-wide review of physical fitness, grooming, and readiness standards and <a href="https://x.com/SecDef/status/1907509325804798454" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently stated</a>, “For too long, we’ve allowed standards to slip within the ranks for men and women serving in combat MOSs. This is unacceptable and over.”
He also welcomed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the Pentagon, pledging to ensure our warfighters are “healthy and fit to fight.” These moves reflect a growing recognition of the military’s readiness crisis — and that rebuilding a warrior culture requires action, not speeches.
Texas is answering that call.
The Texas Military Forces Health and Readiness Act (House Bill 4993) is a no-compromise legislative initiative to restore physical readiness, health, and resilience in the Texas Military Forces. It aligns with the Department of Defense’s renewed focus on standards and provides a battle-ready model that other states — and even the federal government — can adopt.
<h3>The Current Readiness Crisis And Systemic Failures</h3>
<div id="attachment_908487" style="width: 876px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-908487" class="size-large wp-image-908487" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574-866x576.jpg" alt="EL PASO, TEXAS - APRIL 02: Texas National Guard soldiers transport border fencing layered with concertina wire near the Rio Grande river on April 02, 2024 in El Paso, Texas. Last week, hundreds of migrants seeking asylum clashed with Texas national guardsmen while waiting to turn themselves in to border patrol agents for processing. Texas continues awaiting a verdict on Senate Bill 4. Attorneys representing the state of Texas are scheduled to return to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on April 3 to continue arguing for the constitutional basis of the bill. Senate Bill 4 allows state law enforcement officials to detain and arrest undocumented immigrants suspected of illegally crossing into the United States. Thus far, all prior attempts to put the Bill into effect have been blocked by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)" width="866" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574-866x576.jpg 866w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574-768x511.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 866px) 100vw, 866px" />Brandon Bell/Getty Images</div>
The National Guard plays an increasingly vital dual role: it must respond to domestic crises and be ready to “fight tonight” in peer-level combat operations. Hegseth has emphasized the need to “match threats to capabilities.” But for states like Texas — where the Guard is expected to conduct disaster operations, support border security, and remain deployable worldwide — this mission cannot be met under current conditions.
This isn’t just about pushups. America’s military readiness crisis is real, and it’s gutting our combat capability across the force. Military readiness isn’t a slogan — it’s the bedrock of deterrence and victory. Yet today, 68% of U.S. service members are overweight or obese, according to a 2023 report by the American Security Project. Fitness-related health costs and lost duty time exceed $1.35 billion annually, directly sabotaging operational effectiveness. That’s bad enough for active-duty forces — but for the National Guard, the situation is catastrophic.
If active-duty service members with full access to resources are struggling, the situation for part-time National Guard forces is even more dire. In Texas, part-time Guardsmen train a fraction of the time compared to Active Duty. They are spread across vast distances, often without access to adequate training facilities, wellness programs, or basic fitness infrastructure. Unlike the Active Duty, the Guard operates with persistent disparities in funding, support services, and oversight. Wellness programs go underutilized, accountability is virtually nonexistent, and time for physical training is painfully limited. The result? A force on the edge of collapse — unfit, underprepared, and unable to meet the demands of today’s missions. This isn’t just a training problem. It’s a strategic liability.
<h3>The Army’s Food Scandal: A Symptom Of The Larger Collapse</h3>
Adding insult to injury is the military’s broken nutrition system. A January 2025 Military.com <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/investigations-and-features/2025/02/14/over-151-million-taken-soldiers-paychecks-food-costs-spent-elsewhere-army.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigation</a> found that the Army diverted over $151 million in food allowance payments from junior enlisted soldiers, with only 30% of those funds actually going toward meals. At Fort Cavazos in Texas, only $11.7 million of $42.5 million collected went to feed troops. Other bases relied on vending machines stocked with sugary snacks, or served meals of toast and lima beans — or no meals at all.
This isn’t just a logistical failure. It’s a betrayal of the trust and conditions necessary for building a capable, professional fighting force. For the National Guard, already starved of resources and time, this neglect is lethal. This is not a military prepared to win wars — it’s a hollow shell.
<div id="attachment_908491" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-908491" class="size-large wp-image-908491" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611-864x576.jpg" alt="EAGLE PASS, TEXAS - JANUARY 12: National Guard soldiers stand guard on the banks of the Rio Grande river at Shelby Park on January 12, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. The Texas National Guard continues its blockade and surveillance of Shelby Park in an effort to deter illegal immigration. The Department of Justice has accused the Texas National Guard of blocking Border Patrol agents from carrying out their duties along the river. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Brandon Bell/Getty Images</div>
<h3>HB 4993: A Texas-Size Fix</h3>
HB <a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/html/HB04993I.htm">4993</a> is a Texas-sized solution to this national crisis. It creates a comprehensive, accountable system to rebuild readiness:
<ul>
<li>Statewide Fitness Access: State-funded gym memberships and access to certified civilian trainers ensure Guardsmen across Texas can train consistently, regardless of location.</li>
<li>Integrated Digital Platform: Service members get real-time fitness tracking, customized plans, injury prevention, and mental health tools in a secure app.</li>
<li>Comprehensive Wellness Services: The bill funds rehabilitation, nutrition counseling, mental health support, and family-based fitness programs, because force readiness starts at home.</li>
<li>Performance-Based Culture: Structured incentives, advancement pathways, and public recognition will restore the warrior ethos and reward excellence.</li>
<li>Transparency and Accountability: Quarterly reports to the Legislature, corrective action plans, and unit-level oversight. If readiness falters, the system adapts — now, not later.</li>
<li>Minimal Cost, Maximum Return: This initiative delivers a high-impact return at a fraction of the $1.35 billion national fitness-related losses. This is a high-impact, low-cost readiness reform that delivers immediate and lasting results — saving lives, taxpayer dollars, and national security. </li>
</ul>
<h3>Reinforcing National Readiness Priorities</h3>
For too long, the physical and mental health of our service members has been allowed to rot — not because of funding shortages, but because of cowardice, complacency, and a lack of standards. HB 4993 rejects that failure. It embodies the resolve to act decisively and reforge a professional force worthy of the missions it’s expected to carry out.
This is the moment for Texas to lead. HB 4993 supports the national call to “Make America Healthy Again” and hands other states a clear, scalable playbook. The health, fitness, and discipline of our military are not internal HR concerns — they are national security imperatives.
Readiness isn’t negotiable. It’s the prerequisite for effective deterrence, mission success, and survival in a world of growing threats. Texas is doing its part. Now the Texas Legislature must rise to the occasion — and show the nation what readiness, resolve, and responsibility really look like.
* * *
Ammon Blair is a Senior Fellow for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s ‘Secure &amp; Sovereign Texas’ Initiative.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Texas National Guard Works To Secure Southern Border In El Paso

Rebuilding The Warrior Class: Texas Can Lead With Military Fitness Reform

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If you weren’t paying close attention on Super Bowl Sunday, you might have missed the <a href="https://x.com/wearehims/status/1888774632955691247" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commercial</a> from telehealth company Hims and Hers that has generated some online controversy. 
In the ad, the company correctly points out the “deadliest epidemic” facing Americans: obesity. Hims and Hers nailed it on the head with its description of the weight loss industry’s failure to keep Americans healthy, but despite the convincing and emotional message of the ad, it still missed the point when its solution was just more medications. 
Instead of pushing a healthy lifestyle, Hims and Hers advertised a compounded semaglutide, which is basically just a substitute for Ozempic. In 2023, the FDA received numerous <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/fdas-concerns-unapproved-glp-1-drugs-used-weight-loss" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> of adverse effects after people used compounded semaglutide. Of course, the Hims and Hers ad didn’t mention this, and sadly, many health care providers lead people to believe that major health issues, such as obesity, can be cured with another medication, another injectable, or another prescription. 
That’s not what will give you true health. 
True health comes from a lifestyle that prioritizes your body’s needs every day, not some quick-fix scheme to magically make you feel better. Taking care of your health is hard work, but it’s possible, and Responsible Man is here to help you take charge of your body, not to turn your body over to some medication. 
At <a href="https://responsibleman.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Responsible Man</a>, we believe in giving men the real tools they need to build strength, resilience, and lifelong wellness. That’s why we created the <a href="https://responsibleman.com/products/resilience-premium-mens-multivitamin?selling_plan=1143570497" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emerson Multivitamin</a> — packed with 13 core vitamins, 19 hand-selected nutrients, and powerful antioxidants. No artificial dyes, no useless fillers, and no snake oil disguised as science​. Of course, Responsible Man isn’t the solution to obesity; responsible living is the solution, and we want to help you take that next step in your responsible lifestyle. 
While health care giants want you to rely on their products, at Responsible Man, we want you free. See how the Emerson Multivitamin can help you take charge of your health. 
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. 
Responsible Man shares common ownership with The Daily Wire.

Health Care Giant’s Super Bowl Ad Correctly Calls Out Obesity Epidemic But Misses The Solution

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<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/detroit">Detroit</a>-based rap performer Dank Demoss is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lawsuit">suing</a> Lyft over a driver refusing her service because of her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/obesity">weight</a>.
A video of an interaction between the woman, whose real name is Dajua Blanding, went viral on social media. Blanding and the Lyft driver are heard arguing as he explains that he won’t be able to accommodate her in his vehicle.
&#8220;I can fit in this car,&#8221; Blanding can be heard saying, to which the driver responded, &#8220;Believe me, you can&#8217;t.&#8221;
The Lyft driver apologized and assured Blanding she would not be charged for the service. He also said she could try ordering a larger sized vehicle such as an Uber XL.
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He denied her uber request because she was too big <a href="https://t.co/S7qhm7mU0N">pic.twitter.com/S7qhm7mU0N</a>
&mdash; Zaza Man (@Zazamyodor) <a href="https://twitter.com/Zazamyodor/status/1883268194510754003?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;I&#8217;ve been in cars smaller than that,&#8221; the rapper <a href="https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/detroit-rapper-sues-after-lyft-driver-says-she-wont-fit-his-car">told</a> the local Detroit affiliate FOX 2. &#8220;I just want them to know that it hurt my feelings.&#8221;
Since then, Blanding took to Instagram to announce that she was suing Lyft for discrimination. &#8220;If I [don’t] stand for something, I&#8217;ll fall for anything,” she wrote in the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DFWFWqbSpru/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1">post</a>. “Thank you to my lawyers, Marco and Zach Runyan! Fighting for my community my people and making a change in the world, not just for me, but for everyone. Thank you to my team and all the support I’m getting.”
Since the video went viral, Lyft has also released a statement on the interaction.
&#8220;Lyft unequivocally condemns all forms of discrimination—we believe in a community where everyone is treated with equal respect and mutual kindness. Our community guidelines and terms of service explicitly prohibit harassment or discrimination,” the rideshare company said, per Fox 2.
Social media reactions were mixed, with many users siding with the Lyft driver and saying he had the right to refuse service if it was for a valid safety concern. Some users also noted that Blanding would likely be required to purchase more than one seat on an airplane, which they used as a comparable situation.
“The Uber driver has the right to deny service if he or she feels there is a valid concern for their safety or the safety of the rider(s). I think the driver made the correct decision here,” one person <a href="https://x.com/MauriceCooley/status/1883884873007693989">wrote</a> in response to the video.
A second commenter <a href="https://x.com/Pennywise_7/status/1883675108981809595">said</a>, “I actually had 3 overweight men bottom out and ruin my shocks and break the frame of my car when I was an uber driver way back. This is reasonable.”
“I understand both sides. That’s his personal vehicle and if anything was to happen, Lyft isn’t buying him a new car. Also, denying her service is embarrassing and unprofessional, but unfortunately I do understand why,” a third person <a href="https://x.com/fentyDOM/status/1883686124910264712">said</a>.
The Instagram comments showed a similar response. One popular reaction to Blanding’s announcement that she was suing Lyft said, “So friend you mad because someone wasn’t comfortable with you getting in their car? I’m big too and I know some cars I have no business in. That car was already low to the floor.&#8221;
The commenter continued, “He also was very respectful and didn’t try to humiliate you! All you had to do was let him cancel and send you another one… We have bigger issues in our community like high blood pressure and diabetes.”

Lyft Car

Morbidly Obese Rapper Sues Lyft After Being Denied Service Due To Her Size

Courts

Detroit

Discrimination

Lawsuit

Lyft

Uber

San Francisco&#8217;s Department of Public Health has tapped fat activist Virgie Tovar as the liberal city&#8217;s &#8220;weight stigma&#8221; czar.
Tovar, author of &#8220;You Have the Right to Remain Fat&#8221; and a &#8220;DEI&#8221; professional, announced the position on her Instagram account on Monday.
&#8220;I&#8217;m UNBELIEVABLY proud to serve the city I&#8217;ve called home for almost 20 years in this way!&#8221; she wrote. &#8220;This consultancy is an absolute dream come true, and it&#8217;s my biggest hope and belief that weight neutrality will be the future of public health.&#8221;
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<a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DDqUdszPGrz/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Virgie Tovar (@virgietovar)</a>
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Tovar describes herself as a &#8220;leading expert on weight-based discrimination and body positivity with over a decade of experience,&#8221; according to her website, which also details her &#8220;DEI,&#8221; or &#8220;diversity, equity, and inclusion&#8221; work.
&#8220;Virgie&#8217;s corporate trainings focus on creating a non-judgmental environment where professionals can build awareness, vocabulary and best practices aimed at decreasing occupational weight-based discrimination,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.virgietovar.com/dei.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DEI section</a> of Tovar&#8217;s website reads. &#8220;She combines her academic background, professional expertise and personal lived experience to design virtual and in-person experiences that open up curiosity, empathy, and empowerment.&#8221;
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Some of her former clients included &#8220;the Seattle Transit Agency, UC Berkeley, Everybody Gym, and affinity spaces within Square and Waymo.&#8221; Tovar has also partnered with leading beauty brand Dove to discuss issues like &#8220;fat liberation.&#8221;
In a &#8220;#DovePartner&#8221; video, for example, Tovar says examples of &#8220;fat liberation&#8221; are &#8220;putting as much butter&#8221; as she wants on her toast, &#8220;wearing a bikini to the beach,&#8221; and children never being put on diets.
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<a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwoC5F9vqpO/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Virgie Tovar (@virgietovar)</a>
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</blockquote>
Tovar is against so-called diet culture for the obese, rejects Ozempic, and believes that &#8220;no one has to be healthy.&#8221;
&#8220;No one has to be healthy,&#8221; she said on a podcast. &#8220;Nobody owes anybody that.&#8221;
&#8220;No matter what size you are, you don&#8217;t owe anybody else your health,&#8221; the activist added after comparing being disabled to being obese. &#8220;In an ideal world, there wouldn&#8217;t be health-based gatekeeping at all.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
&#8220;No one has to be healthy&#8221; &#8211; Virgie Tovar, Weight Czar for SF Health Department <a href="https://t.co/KnODC56iAz">pic.twitter.com/KnODC56iAz</a>
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1869549120534597697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
In a viral video narrated by Tovar, she explains why it&#8217;s &#8220;fatphobic&#8221; to ask for a small piece of cake at a party.
&#8220;And then it comes time to cut the cake and someone decides to ruin everything,&#8221; Tovar says in the video. &#8220;A cake-related fatphobic incident, or &#8216;CRFI,&#8217; is that moment when it&#8217;s time to eat delicious cake and it&#8217;s interrupted by a moralizing impulse.&#8221;
&#8220;Inevitably, there&#8217;s always someone at the party who has to declare publicly that their slice is too large, and that the person who&#8217;s cutting the cake &#8212; almost invariably a woman &#8212; must do some disproportionate amount of labor to fulfill their need to feel superior.&#8221;
Looking at such &#8220;incidents&#8221; through a &#8220;feminist&#8221; lens, Tovar argues that it&#8217;s also anti-feminist to ask for a small cake slice.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
San Francisco Weight Czar Virgie Tovar on why eating less cake is oppression: <a href="https://t.co/3tfliIKnID">pic.twitter.com/3tfliIKnID</a>
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1869539589045858596?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2024</a></blockquote>

Bentonville Film Festival – Day 2

‘No One Has To Be Healthy’: San Fran Taps Fat Activist As ‘Weight Stigma’ Czar

‘No One Has To Be Healthy’: San Fran Taps Fat Activist Virgie Tovar As ‘Weight Stigma’ Czar

California

Fat Acceptance

Fat Liberation

Health

San Francisco

Nearly 5,000 stores with words related to “liquor” or “tobacco” in their names accept food stamps, a Daily Wire review of government data found.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the food stamp program, currently allows more than 3,700 stores with “liquor,” “beer,” “wine,” or “spirits” in their names to accept food stamps. Food stamps aren’t allowed to be used for alcohol, but they can be used for nearly anything edible, so the stores are allowed to accept them on the idea that someone might want to buy snacks, such as a bag of chips, at the liquor store. Such stores are highly unlikely to sell much healthy food, and the snacks they sell are likely ultra-processed junk food sold in small quantities at a very high markup.
The findings highlight how the $113 billion Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) often contributes to making people less healthy. Democrat and Republican governors alike have signaled support for reforming SNAP to block junk food in order to deal with persistent problems regarding health — or, as Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/gop-governor-calls-incoming-trump-141200605.html">put it</a>, “Make America Healthy Again.”
Junk food and soda are permitted expenditures with SNAP, and soda is the number one most-purchased item. While alcohol and tobacco aren&#8217;t, the USDA essentially has to rely on store owners&#8217; honesty when reporting what was actually rung up. Selling ineligible products, or trading food stamps for cash, is unlikely to happen at major grocery chains, but far more likely to happen at inner-city liquor stores.
The stores include Bottles Liquor in Oakland, whose windows advertise luxury alcohols like Patron.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-842769 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/bottles-1024x509.png" alt="" width="1024" height="509" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/bottles-1024x509.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/bottles-300x149.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/bottles-768x381.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/bottles-1536x763.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/bottles.png 1756w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Or a store in Detroit with a sign that simply says LIQUOR, where signs advertise various beers, lottery machines, and the fact that people can access Bitcoin, a favorite for illicit transactions, there.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-842773 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/detroit-959x576.png" alt="" width="959" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/detroit-959x576.png 959w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/detroit-300x180.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/detroit-768x461.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/detroit.png 1502w" sizes="(max-width: 959px) 100vw, 959px" /></div>
Residents of Antioch, Tennessee who want to use a taxpayer-funded nutrition program at a store dedicated to harming both livers and lungs can check out Antioch Tobacco &amp; Beer, where signs advertise Bud Light, Sonoma Cigarettes, Rockstar energy drinks, and the fact that EBT — the debit card that holds food stamps — is accepted.
The federal government has ensured that SNAP can be spent at about 1,000 stores whose names contain “tobacco,” “smoke,” “cigar,” or “vape.” Those enjoying Reno, Nevada’s vices can spend their government benefits at Stay High Liquor &amp; Smoke.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-842737 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/stay-high-766x576.png" alt="" width="766" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/stay-high-766x576.png 766w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/stay-high-300x226.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/stay-high-768x577.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/stay-high-1536x1155.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/stay-high.png 1990w" sizes="(max-width: 766px) 100vw, 766px" /></div>
Phoenix residents who anticipate that after buying a blunt wrap, they might want a bag of Funyuns can check out “Cell Repair – Smoke &amp; Vape Shop,” where you can buy cannabis products and where the “EBT SNAP CARDS ACCEPTED HERE” sign is larger than the name of the store itself.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-842777 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/smoke-vape-773x576.png" alt="" width="773" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/smoke-vape-773x576.png 773w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/smoke-vape-300x224.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/smoke-vape-768x572.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/smoke-vape.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 773px) 100vw, 773px" /></div>
Tobacco Depot in Stockton, California focuses its advertising on the fact that you can buy both cigarettes and glass pipes used for drugs, as well as that the store does “accept E.B.T.”
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-842813 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/tobacco-depot-1-577x576.png" alt="" width="577" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/tobacco-depot-1-577x576.png 577w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/tobacco-depot-1-300x300.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/tobacco-depot-1-150x150.png 150w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/tobacco-depot-1-768x766.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/tobacco-depot-1.png 790w" sizes="(max-width: 577px) 100vw, 577px" /></div>
In Huntington, Indiana, I Puff Discount Tobacco contains a marijuana leaf in its window and accepts EBT, perhaps for those who want to pick up a Mountain Dew if whatever they’re smoking dries out their mouth.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-842791 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/ipuff-1006x576.png" alt="" width="1006" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/ipuff-1006x576.png 1006w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/ipuff-300x172.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/ipuff-768x440.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/ipuff.png 1338w" sizes="(max-width: 1006px) 100vw, 1006px" /></div>
On top of the 5,000 liquor and smoke shops, welfare beneficiaries — who are more likely than the general population to be obese — can spend their taxpayer-funded nutrition dollars at candy stores, like Angie’s Candy Store in Milwaukee.
Nearly 200 firms with &#8220;liquor&#8221; in the name have been found to have defrauded the food stamp program in recent years. <a href="https://dam-fns.usda.gov/media/FNS/fad-crains-ice-cream-liquor-c0201168.pdf">Crain&#8217;s Ice Cream &amp; Liquor</a> took food stamps, until the government was surprised to learn that it wasn&#8217;t a bona fide source of nutrition, instead finding &#8220;irregular transactions&#8221; of hundreds of dollars making &#8220;the case of trafficking&#8230; convincing.&#8221; Its receipts did not even indicate whether the items purchased were food or not.
Since 2017, 51 stores with the name &#8220;tobacco&#8221; in their name have been found to have committed fraud, according to <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/retailer-sanctions-final-agency-decisions-fads?title=tobacco&amp;field_fiscal_year_value=&amp;order=field_fad_date&amp;sort=desc">USDA data</a>.
For example, inspectors visited <a href="https://dam-fns.usda.gov/media/FNS/FAD-AmigosTobaccoShop-C0242309.pdf">Amigos Tobacco Shop</a> in Greenville, North Carolina three times, and all three times they observed food stamps being accepted for non-food items, presumably tobacco, by multiple clerks. The store was barred from accepting food stamps for six months, although the punishment was postponed because the store owner appealed, complaining that SNAP was &#8220;very important&#8221; to his tobacco store&#8217;s income stream.
<a href="https://dam-fns.usda.gov/media/FNS/fad-t-j-cell-tobacco-c0224383.pdf">T&amp;J Cell &amp; Tobacco</a> in Milwaukee was authorized to take food stamps even though there are more than 90 stores within a two-mile radius, including supermarkets, that sell wide selections of food and accept the benefit. USDA investigators found that it was ringing up unusually high-dollar transactions, even though it offered &#8220;mainly snacks foods and beverages.&#8221; It banned the store for &#8220;trafficking&#8221; food stamps, which is when a clerk rings up fake products and gives half the amount to the customer in cash.
When inspectors visited <a href="https://dam-fns.usda.gov/media/FNS/fad-manchester-tobacco-outlet-C0208524.pdf">Manchester Tobacco Outlet</a> in Manchester, Tennessee, it didn&#8217;t even have a selection of staple foods for sale, which the owner said was because &#8220;we ran out of goods.&#8221; <a href="https://dam-fns.usda.gov/media/FNS/fad-os-pipe-tobacco-C0201725.pdf">Os Pipe &amp; Tobacco</a> of Denver was eligible to accept food stamps, until the government realized its owner was a convicted drug dealer.
<a href="https://dam-fns.usda.gov/media/FNS/fad-liquor-beer-tobacco-outlet-C0197734.pdf">Liquor Beer &amp; Tobacco Outlet</a> in Charles City, Iowa, was allowed to accept food stamps. Investigators found it was ringing up high-dollar transactions even though it only sold small items like snacks and didn&#8217;t even have shopping baskets, leading them to conclude that it was simply laundering food stamps for cash.
&#8220;It is not plausible that the firm&#8217;s customers would carry large amount of merchandise around the store without the benefit of shopping carts or baskets or that customers would routinely do the bulk of their grocery purchases at a moderately-stocked convenience store rather than a nearby superstore or supermarket with significantly more inventory and lower prices,&#8221; investigators wrote.
On December 6, The Daily Wire laid out the case for how <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-can-food-stamps-buy-junk-food-how-doge-could-save-billions-and-maha">SNAP could be replaced</a> by a system that purchased healthy food in bulk from farmers, and sent them to needy people upon request. That could save money not just on SNAP itself, but on the Medicaid costs associated with obesity.
On Wednesday, Gov. Sanders <a href="https://governor.arkansas.gov/news_post/governor-sanders-calls-for-reforms-to-the-snap-program/">wrote</a> to Robert F. Kennedy, President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary, and Brooke Rollins, his Agriculture nominee, that reforming SNAP could be part of the Make America Healthy Again agenda.
&#8220;Unfortunately, this &#8216;Nutrition Assistance&#8217; program is undermining the health of millions of Americans, on the taxpayer’s dime, by encouraging families to eat highly processed, unhealthy junk food,&#8221; Sanders wrote. She said soda, unhealthy snacks, and candy make up a large portion of SNAP purchases, which is harming her state, where 40% of residents are obese and one-third have diabetes or pre-diabetes.
She noted that a Stanford study by Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Trump&#8217;s pick to lead the National Institutes of Health, &#8220;estimated that prohibiting sugary drinks and soda from SNAP would prevent obesity in 141,000 kids and Type 2 diabetes in 240,000 adults. Since joint state and federal healthcare spending is quickly approaching $2 trillion each year, we should embrace commonsense, preventative healthcare policies.&#8221;
Sanders also said shifting the program to healthy, homegrown food would also support farmers, and said she would seek a waiver from SNAP to steer the program towards healthy foods in her state. In previous administrations, the federal government has refused to give states waivers blocking junk food, including New York, which wanted to ban soda.
On X, Jared Polis, the Democrat governor of Colorado, echoed his <a href="https://x.com/GovofCO/status/1866903155495079983">support</a>, saying, &#8220;Prioritizing healthy, fresh foods over junk food and soda will reduce the risk of having future health issues such as diabetes and cavities.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-can-food-stamps-buy-junk-food-how-doge-could-save-billions-and-maha">Why Can Food Stamps Buy Junk Food? How DOGE Could Save Billions And MAHA</a>

Antioch Tobacco & Beer in Antioch, Tennessee / Google

Food Stamps Accepted At Thousands Of Liquor And Tobacco Stores, Contributing To Healthcare Fiasco

Agriculture

Department of Health and Human Services

Food Stamps

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Welfare

On February 9, 2010, Michelle Obama unveiled her ambitious initiative to combat childhood obesity through her <a href="https://letsmove.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“Let’s Move!”</a> campaign, aiming to empower children and reduce obesity rates. The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood-obesity-facts/childhood-obesity-facts.html#:~:text=This%20means%20that%20approximately%2014.7,percentile%20for%20age%20and%20sex." target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDC</a> reports that 1 in 5 children in the U.S. suffer from obesity which prompted President Obama to pass the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthy,_Hunger-Free_Kids_Act_of_2010" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010</a>. This law aimed to promote healthier diets with mandated minimum servings of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains while limiting sugar, fat, and sodium. However, the program fell short of its goals and inadvertently exacerbated the problems it sought to address.
The focus of her campaign was not only to ensure that our nation’s children are being fed but also fed healthy food through the aid of the government. This could have only been a good thing until reality proved otherwise.
Within the first few years of this initiative, participation in school lunch programs across the nation fell dramatically. The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-15-656.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> that nationwide participation in the National School Lunch Program declined by 1.4 million.
Children&#8217;s decrease in participation coincided with rising lunch prices aiming to comply with new “health” standards set by the First Lady, which mandated minimum fruit, vegetable, and whole grain servings, as well as set a maximum for sodium, sugar, and fat contents.
This centralization of our children’s diets drastically harmed low-income communities. Many low-income schools faced budget shortfalls, with some completely dropping out of the federal program. Ironically, this initiative reduced access to meals for the very same children the initiative sought to help.
Michelle Obama’s &#8220;one-size-fits-all&#8221; approach to children’s diets, also did not account for dietary preferences or individual school needs. Thus, children were actively choosing not to eat the meals provided for them, calling them “gross” and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/11/24/students-are-blaming-michelle-obama-for-their-gross-school-lunches/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posting</a> pictures of their so-called nutritious and balanced meals with the hashtag #thanksmichelleobama.
However, Michelle Obama was right: the quality and nutritional value of lunches can change and affect the current rates of childhood obesity. Unfortunately, her approach completely failed to address the real problem at hand: public health giants and their monopoly on the United States agrifood system.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) recently conducted a <a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/childhood-obesity-linked-limited-food-options" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> on the correlation between childhood obesity and low-income areas. Scientists found that adolescents residing in areas of low income had a greater than 50% higher risk of obesity. This statistic is the complete opposite when it comes to a majority of marginalized countries. So why does one of the wealthiest nations on the planet have the most significant rates of obesity?
Low-income communities in the United States are consuming more ultra-processed foods now than ever before. Why? Because processed foods are often cheaper than fresh produce and they are made and marketed for convenience. Mass consumption of ultra-processed foods leads to a higher risk of health dangers and diseases due to high calorific content and low nutritional value.
Students weren&#8217;t getting enough nutrition as it was and Michelle Obama’s school lunch program inadvertently replaced the traditional high-calorie, low-nutritional meals with a different form of processed foods. This change posed a significant issue for low-income students who depended on these meals, as the new options were often unappealing and failed to meet their dietary needs from the start.
This systemic problem is at the heart of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement. RFK’s bid is to fix the American agricultural system and that begins with cleaning up public health agencies like the FDA and USDA claiming, “[t]hose agencies have become sock puppets for the industries they’re supposed to regulate” in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKSBS5v-aOc">recent video</a>. It has become abundantly clear that these agencies are solely operating for monetary gain, not for the people of America.
<h3><a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE</a></h3>
In a <a href="https://www.mahanow.org/school-lunches-video" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox &amp; Friends interview</a>, RFK was asked what he would do to improve school lunches, and to that, he responded immediately: “I’ll get processed food out of lunches immediately. About half the school lunch program goes to processed food….We’re creating a diabetes problem in our kids, by giving them food that is poison and I’m going to stop that.”
The &#8220;Make America Healthy Again&#8221; pledge to get toxic chemicals out of the food supply addresses the real problem the way Michelle Obama never could. Rather than just treating symptoms of obesity, RFK’s plans to reform America’s agricultural policies, agencies, thereby addressing the systemic failures in our food system.
To truly combat obesity in America, we must prioritize the quality of our food. By addressing systemic failures and reforming the food supply chain, initiatives like RFK Jr.’s offer a more sustainable and realistic path to a healthier nation.
* * *
Dr. Naydeen González-De Jesús is a former college president and former U.S. public diplomacy officer who has championed student success and international collaboration. Her initiatives and contributions to the U.S.-Argentina Education Memorandum during the 2018 G20 Summit, have driven economic mobility, educational advancement, and strengthened bilateral relations.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Daily Wire.

Donald Trump Campaigns In Michigan In Final Days Before Election

RFK Jr. Could Do What Michelle Obama Actually Promised: Healthy Lunches For Low Income Students

Barack Obama

Department of Education

Michelle Obama

Schools

A head-to-head study between two popular <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/obesity">weight loss</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/prescription-drugs">drugs</a>, Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, showed that users lost more weight using Zepbound.
According to the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/zepbound-wegovy-comparison-weight-loss-drug-clinical-trial-d0c0d5ff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a>, which was sponsored by Lilly, people using Zepbound lost 20.2% of their body weight over 72 weeks, while Wegovy users lost 13.7%. In pounds, that means Zepbound users lost an average of 50 lbs, while Wegovy users lost 33.
This is the first time two of the drugs had a direct comparison. Previous studies explored the effectiveness of the drugs, which have been marketed to help obese users lose weight, but this blind trial specifically evaluated the two brands as both compete for market share in the lucrative weight loss drug market.
Dr. Susan Spratt, an endocrinologist and senior medical director for the Population Health Management Office at Duke Health in North Carolina, told NBC News that both drugs are effective. “The amount of weight loss with both is astounding,” she <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/zepbound-weight-loss-wegovy-drug-clinical-trial-rcna182682">told</a> the outlet.
The main difference between the two is that Zepbound contains the active ingredient tirzepatide, which is the same ingredient used in Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro. Wegovy, meanwhile, uses semaglutide, the ingredient used in Novo Nordisk’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ozempic">Ozempic</a>, which is also prescribed to diabetes patients. 
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE</a>
The GLP-1 drugs mimic a hormone that helps reduce food intake and appetite, causing users to eat less than they did before. Tirzepatide also imitates a second hormone, GIP, which is believed to help the body break down sugar and fat, NBC noted.
A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk said its drug Wegovy, in combination with diet and exercise, “is the only obesity medicine proven to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as death, heart attack, or stroke.&#8221;
The drugs have become a hot topic of conversation as the demand outpaces the supply and a growing number of people seek their weight loss benefits. However, some unpleasant side effects of taking these types of drugs include gastrointestinal problems, including abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. There is also a potential risk of thyroid tumors and cancer associated with Ozempic, another popular option, according to studies done with rodents, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doctors-sound-alarm-over-latest-ozempic-risk">reported</a>.

Ozempic Wegovy and Zepbound related newspaper headlines. three popular Semaglutide-based prescription diabetes and weight loss drugs

Weight Loss Wars: New Study Weighs In On Effectiveness Of Popular Obesity Drugs

Business

Ozempic

Prescription Drugs

weight Loss

As Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania says, Donald Trump is doing some “God-tier level trolling.” Many of the picks he is currently making are both hilarious and kind of wonderful.
Yesterday, Trump made a bunch of controversial picks. His most controversial pick, however, was Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
RFK Jr., of course, ran as a Democrat in 2024, and then was basically ousted from the primaries in favor of Joe Biden. Because the Democratic Party said, “No. No one will run against Joe Biden. He&#8217;s too great and important a president.” And then, of course, they took Biden and tossed him off the back of a train when he died on stage in a debate versus Donald Trump.
So, RFK Jr. immediately flipped. First, he became an independent, and then he finally ended up endorsing Trump. Now, he&#8217;s the leader of the so-called “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement, which is a great purpose for RFK Jr.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2086-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
We had him as a guest on our show <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/is-he-the-last-real-democrat-robert-f-kennedy-jr-member-exclusive">The Sunday Special</a> and he talked extensively about his purpose in making America healthy again. He said, “Listen, many of the biggest issues facing the American people are issues that none of our politicians talk about. Our politicians will talk about tax policy. They&#8217;ll talk about whether to drill or not to drill, but then never talk about the fact that the American people are increasingly unhealthy.”
RFK Jr. went on to say, “If I were in government, my number one job would be to make the American people healthy again. There are a bunch of substances that are in our food and our drink that are banned in Europe and that are replete in all of our products, and they are making us fatter.”
And, by the way, he&#8217;s not wrong about this.
Today, The New York Times published an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/well/obesity-epidemic-america.html">article titled</a> “Three-Quarters of U.S. Adults Are Now Overweight or Obese.”
This has some downstream effects. Because, as it turns out, when you hear statistics about American life expectancy flatlining, about the fact that people are getting high rates of chronic diseases in the United States, that&#8217;s because of what we are eating, what we&#8217;re drinking, and because we never exercise. There are comparable places around the Earth that have higher life expectancies than we do, and that is not because of our medical system.
It is not because American doctors are worse or American hospitals are worse or anything remotely like that. When somebody in Europe has cancer, they&#8217;re coming to the United States for treatment. The reality is that it&#8217;s not our medical system, per se, that&#8217;s broken. Our medical insurance system is broken. Our medical system is not broken. The thing that is broken is our health care system.
According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/well/obesity-epidemic-america.html">The New York Times</a>:
<blockquote>Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, according to a sweeping new study. The findings have wide-reaching implications for the nation’s health and medical costs as it faces a growing burden of weight-related diseases.
The <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01548-4/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a>, published on Thursday in The Lancet, reveals the striking rise of obesity rates nationwide since 1990 — when just over half of adults were overweight or obese — and shows how more people are becoming overweight or obese at younger ages than in the past. Both conditions can raise the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, and shorten life expectancy.
Without aggressive intervention, they forecast, the number of overweight and obese people will continue to go up — reaching nearly 260 million people in 2050.
The paper defined “overweight” adults as those who were age 25 and over with a body mass index at or over 25, and “obese” adults as those with a B.M.I. at or over 30.</blockquote>
Now, again, there are a number of things the pharmaceutical industry is attempting to do in order to walk that back. Ozempic would be the most obvious example. But if you can take preventative measures so kids aren&#8217;t obese at age seven — and if that means that we look for different solutions inside the FDA or inside the NIH or inside HHS — generally, that&#8217;s a good thing.
Here, for example, was RFK Jr. talking about the sort of products and services that are available to Americans that are not available in other places, because, as he says, the food industry has a giant lobbying arm, which is true.
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The Democrats, who claim to be all about health care have stood by watching other countries ban these poisons that make our kids sick. Enough is enough. President Trump and I are going to stop the mass poisoning of American children. <a href="https://t.co/Rf04MrF9e8">pic.twitter.com/Rf04MrF9e8</a>
&mdash; Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1839012584957042973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 25, 2024</a></blockquote>
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So, there&#8217;s nothing wrong with the general mission there. How it actually gets applied in real life is going to be the big question. I&#8217;m sure much of that will come up in a confirmation hearing. How much power should the HHS have to outright ban things in your food? How much power should the HHS have, for example, to hold up new drugs?
One of the big problems in the United States is that it is very difficult to get a new pharmaceutical product approved and very expensive. That&#8217;s the reason why pharmaceuticals are so expensive when it comes to the consumer level, because it&#8217;s not just the R&amp;D you have to do to develop a drug. It&#8217;s also that you then have to go through an extraordinarily rigorous process that very often is replete with red tape. So there are a bunch of problems inside FDA, inside NIH. Many of the studies that are being promulgated by NIH are just crap. They&#8217;re terrible. There&#8217;s a lot to do. There&#8217;s a lot of deadwood to clear out right there.
It&#8217;ll be fascinating to see how RFK Jr. does all of that. Obviously, he&#8217;s a trial lawyer and very often the mentality of a trial lawyer is to find the vulnerability of a particular product to cause causation of a health problem. So if there&#8217;s even a remote causative effect of some sort of product on somebody&#8217;s health, then you can sue based on that and you make a lot of money if you&#8217;re a trial lawyer.
However, is that enough of a standard to ban it, or are we going to get more advisory opinions? Right. None of this is particularly clear at this point.
What is clear, though, is that refocusing America on being healthier while also allowing for more innovation in a lot of these areas would definitely be a good target goal. 
And I think that&#8217;s what <a href="https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1857170020427595797?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1857170020427595797%7Ctwgr%5E533157f7d2b84e337bf78af46b219897f3b55dab%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Ftrump-expected-to-nominate-robert-f-kennedy-jr-for-hhs">President Trump</a> wants.

It’s MAHA Time: Trump Picks RFK Jr.

Ben Shapiro

Donald Trump

Food

The newly crowned National American Miss, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/beauty-pageant">Miss Alabama</a> is facing backlash online for what critics are saying is the promotion of unhealthy lifestyles.
Sara Milliken, 23, was named the winner of the National American Miss pageant competition over Memorial Day weekend and has since gone viral online. The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/alabama">Alabama</a> native auditioned twice previously and did not place, then won the crown in 2024. 
“No matter what your body looks like, no matter where you come from, you can do anything you set your mind to,” she told <a href="https://www.wkrg.com/mobile-county/cyberbullying-after-viral-facebook-post-spurs-outpouring-of-support-for-alabama-pageant-queen-explanation-of-comment-moderation/">WKRG</a> in an interview about the win.
The contestant said she expected negativity because of her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/obesity">weight</a>. “Even something that you type over a screen can have a lasting impression on people,” she told the outlet. “Even though I&#8217;m not at that point, it can lead people to do some very dark things to themselves,” the beauty pageant winner added.
Many of the negative comments focused on how Milliken’s win glorified obesity, noting how this was not meant to be a personal attack.
“Calling her beautiful is fine and good that’s all in the eye of the beholder,” one Facebook commenter wrote. “But let’s be honest with ourselves&#8230; she’s extremely unhealthy and this is a slap in the face to the young girls who have worked hard and maintained a diet to actually be a beauty queen.”
“This is an embarrassment to the state of Alabama,” the social media user added.
“The winner of Miss Alabama. She promotes inclusivity and representation of all bodies. We need to stop glorifying obesity. Obesity isn’t healthy,” Libs of TikTok shared on X.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The winner of Miss Alabama. She promotes inclusivity and representation of all bodies. We need to stop glorifying obesity. Obesity isn’t healthy. <a href="https://t.co/kQfkudqOyR">pic.twitter.com/kQfkudqOyR</a>
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1798890188988612661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2024</a></blockquote>
“Body positivity was one of, if not the worst thing we have done as a society in the last 30 years. If anyone truly cared about her, they would tell her the truth,” a commenter on X <a href="https://x.com/mikemayfieldlv/status/1798892634783789273">agreed</a>.
The newly crowned Miss Alabama responded to the negative comments with a lengthy Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C7sDg0hvhmn/">post</a>.
“Recently I have been the target of an overwhelming amount of online hate, negativity, and bullying. Honestly, it doesn’t affect me in the way most would think it does. A lot of people see me stepping into this title as wanting to be ‘in the spotlight’ and because of that their words are justified. The truth is I wanted this title so desperately to serve my community,” Milliken wrote.
“More than anything I just wish people could find something more interesting to do or something more interesting to talk about,” she continued. 
“The things that has been said about me is truly disgusting and I cannot fathom how people think it’s ok to say these things. The easy thing would be to give up. I could hide my face. Stop posting on social media. Make no appearances. Stay low key until Nationals. I could even give in and give up my title. But instead I say WATCH ME.”
Besides controversy over the Miss Alabama crowning, pageant fans are also questioning the state winner in the Miss USA competition. Bailey Anne Kennedy, a biological male who identifies as trans, became the first “trans woman” to be named <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/newly-crowned-miss-maryland-usa-is-a-man" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miss Maryland</a>. Auburn University student Diane Westhoven was <a href="https://www.al.com/life/2024/06/miss-alabama-usa-2024-miss-southern-plains-wins-the-crown.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crowned</a> Miss Alabama USA last weekend. 
Kennedy and Westhoven will next head to Los Angeles to compete for Miss USA. The competition is scheduled to air on Sunday, August 4 on The CW.
This article has been updated to reflect that Milliken won the National American Miss pageant, which is different from the Miss USA pageant and the Miss Alabama organization.

crown

Controversy Erupts Over Plus Sized Miss Alabama Winning Crown

Alabama

Beauty Pageant

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lizzo">Lizzo</a> filmed herself watching an episode of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/south-park">South Park</a>” which referenced her as being the antithesis of weight loss drugs.
The 36-year-old singer, who has made herself a poster child for the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/body-positivity">body positivity</a> movement, shared a “blind duet” reaction to her inclusion on the show. “Guys, my worst fear has been actualized. I’ve been referenced in a South Park episode,” she began in a TikTok video posted on Sunday.
The episode focused on the popularity of semaglutide drugs like <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ozempic">Ozempic</a> and Monjaro for weight loss. “South Park: The End of Obesity” debuted on May 24.
<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@lizzo/video/7373097886705536302" data-video-id="7373097886705536302" data-embed-from="oembed" style="max-width:605px; min-width:325px;">
<section> <a target="_blank" title="@lizzo" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lizzo?refer=embed">@lizzo</a> 
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 <a target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - lizzo" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7373097905437149995?refer=embed">♬ original sound &#8211; lizzo</a> </section>
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&#8220;I’m so scared,” she said as the clip started playing.
In the episode, Sharon and Sheila, moms of characters Stan and Kyle, are discussing using weight loss drugs. Sharon says her doctor would not prescribe her medication like Ozempic because she doesn’t have diabetes. Sheila responded by asking how she’s managing her weight if she’s not using those drugs.
“Don’t you know, Sheila?&#8221; Sharon says. &#8220;Now, there’s a whole new obesity drug for those of us who can’t afford Ozempic and Mounjaro.&#8221;
“I controlled all my cravings to be thinner with Lizzo,&#8221; she says, at which point Lizzo makes a surprised face while reacting to the clip.
A commercial for the fictional drug Lizzo starts playing, including a parody of the song from the Ozempic commercial. Sharon makes it clear that the drug doesn’t do anything besides make the user not care about being overweight. 
The faux commercial says Lizzo “makes you feel good about your weight — and it costs 90% less than Ozempic.”
“I’ve lowered my standards and my expectations,” Sharon says, while the real Lizzo continues reacting with shock at the bit.
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“70% of patients on Lizzo no longer care how much they weigh,” the fake drug commercial narrator continues. The ad also warns about listening to Lizzo’s music, causing her to say, “Not the f***ing album!” as the commercial cuts to an image of someone bleeding from the ears after listening to her songs. 
The commercial concludes with Sharon saying, “Ask about the power of not giving a f*** with Lizzo.”
&#8220;I really showed the world how to love yourself and not give a f*** to the point where these men in Colorado know who the f*** I am, and put it on their cartoon that’s been around for 25 years,” Lizzo said in conclusion as part of her reaction.
“And I’m gonna keep on showing you how to not give a f***,” she added.

Lizzo

Lizzo Reacts To Being Part Of ‘South Park’ Ozempic Bit: ‘My Worst Fear’

Lizzo Reacts To Being Part Of 'South Park' Ozempic Bit: 'My Worst Fear'

Body positivity

Celebrities

South Park

You may have seen this week that Oprah was back on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oprah-insists-obesity-is-a-disease-in-new-doc-touting-ozempic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">primetime</a> television. 
She hosted a special on Monday called &#8220;Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution.&#8221; Really, it was more of an infomercial for drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, which millions of Americans are taking to lose weight.
Previously, I&#8217;ve <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshShow/status/1661507373851131909" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gone into</a> the various side-effects of these drugs. Ozempic, for example, can potentially <a href="https://www.ozempic.com/important-safety-information.html#:~:text=It%20is%20not%20known%20if%20Ozempic%C2%AE%20will%20cause%20thyroid,type%202%20(MEN%202)." target="_blank" rel="noopener">cause</a> thyroid tumors, cancer, and projectile vomiting. Maybe even more alarming is that we also don&#8217;t really understand how these drugs work. Ozempic essentially tricks the pancreas into releasing more insulin. In turn, Ozempic&#8217;s artificially created hormones, &#8220;appear to actually bind to receptors on neurons in several parts of the brain,&#8221; <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2023/05/ozempic-addictive-behavior-drinking-smoking/674098/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a biologists quoted last year by The Atlantic. What do these hormones do when they bind to receptors in the brain? Apparently, they reduce people&#8217;s urge not simply to eat, but also to shop, and to engage in a range of other compulsive behaviors. If that&#8217;s true, no scientist in the world has any idea why it&#8217;s happening, or what other modifications this drug might be making to the brain. 
As if to prove that point, as recently as this month, the Atlantic published a follow-up piece <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2024/03/ozempic-glp1-weight-loss-brain-gut/677645/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entitled</a>, &#8220;The Science Behind Ozempic Was Wrong.&#8221;
It all sounds very much like an elixir, a wonder-drug that can magically solve all of your problems. But if you&#8217;re the cynical type — or if you just paid any attention at all to big pharma over the past few years — you might have some questions. These are the questions that Oprah&#8217;s infomercial on Monday was intended to address. And to be fair, some of the side effects did come up; one woman in the special said that she had to stop taking one of these weight-loss drugs due to the nausea symptoms, for example.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1330-the-matt-walsh-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h4>
But by and large, this was a puff-piece that centered on a lie. It&#8217;s a lie that Oprah repeated several times, and that every television medical expert in this country repeats as well. It&#8217;s the claim that obesity is a &#8220;disease,&#8221; rather than a symptom of poor life choices. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="001 Oprah" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9YPZoLQd_xU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Oprah uses this idea that obesity is a &#8220;disease&#8221; to justify &#8220;treating&#8221; it with drugs instead of diet and exercise. This is an idea that, if you listen to medical experts, is something you&#8217;re not supposed to question. As you just heard from that CBS doctor: &#8220;It&#8217;s a chronic disease! Go to the C.D.C. website! Everybody will tell you the same thing! It&#8217;s just like asthma or diabetes!&#8221; And then everyone nods around the desk.
Except, obesity is nothing like asthma or diabetes, actually. People with obesity can cure themselves. That&#8217;s true in literally every case of obesity. You can lock someone in a room and feed them 1,000 calories of fruit every day, and they will be cured with one-hundred percent certainty. All you have to do is eat a healthy diet, and you&#8217;re cured. You can&#8217;t say the same for everyone with asthma or diabetes (at least not Type 1 diabetes). And if obesity is a disease, you’d need to explain why almost nobody in the country had this “disease” in the 1930s. And why nobody in Ethiopia has it today.
There seems to be a very curious correlation here. The “disease” of obesity only takes hold in places where people eat a lot of food and don’t get a lot of exercise. 
They say correlation isn’t causation, but I think in this case the causation is pretty clear. This is such an obvious, self-evident point that it made me wonder: When exactly did medical experts suddenly decide that obesity is a &#8220;disease,&#8221; and why did they do it? What definition were they using, exactly?
It turns out that the esteemed medical journal The Lancet has already answered this question. Back in 2013, the American Medical Association simply decided to arbitrarily classify obesity as a disease, even though they admitted that it didn&#8217;t meet the scientific definition of a disease. 
As <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370%2823%2900139-6/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Lancet</a> notes: 
<blockquote>A disease, by definition, needs to have characteristic symptoms and signs, and even though excess [body fat] is a characteristic sign, there are no symptoms that are unique to obesity. &#8230; The American Medical Association (AMA) applied a different approach to this conundrum in 2013. Instead of trying to determine whether obesity fits specific definitions of disease, the AMA used a utilitarian approach to determine whether the recognition of obesity as a disease would have a positive impact on the individual patient, the healthcare system, and the wider society.</blockquote>
In other words, they realized that obesity doesn&#8217;t meet the definition of a disease, because there are no unique symptoms that only obese people suffer from. But they just decided to call it a disease anyway, to raise awareness (otherwise known as, to sell more medications). That&#8217;s what one of the top medical journals in the world is admitting. And by the way, it wasn&#8217;t just the AMA that took this approach. The Lancet <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370%2823%2900139-6/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continues</a>: 
<blockquote>In the U.K., the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) recognised obesity as a disease in 2019. The main argument of RCP and those in favour of this recognition is that, unless obesity is defined as a disease, the funding for effective treatment options will be inadequate to stop its increasing prevalence and the health and socioeconomic costs associated with it.</blockquote>
This is almost too absurd to be real. But it is real. Leading medical associations all over the world decided to lie about obesity being a &#8220;disease,&#8221; and they admitted it out loud, and everyone just went along with it. We&#8217;re still seeing this today, of course, with nonsense like &#8220;Long COVID.&#8221; But with obesity, they just came out and told us they were lying. And no one saw a problem with it.
Take for example this remarkable clip from 2013, which is the year the AMA decided to just invent the idea that obesity is a disease. Watch as Charlie Rose asks the medical expert about this. You can tell Rose is a little confused as to why the AMA has suddenly made this decision out of nowhere. What &#8220;science&#8221; changed all of a sudden, Rose wanted to know, that explains why the AMA abruptly decided to label obesity as a disease? 
Watch how the in-house medical expert responds:
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It&#8217;s just one non-answer and non-sequitur after another. &#8220;It&#8217;s a disease because it hurts your body!&#8221; exclaims the T.V. doctor. But that&#8217;s not what a disease is. Shooting yourself in the foot would hurt your body, too. That doesn&#8217;t mean that shooting yourself in the foot is a disease. 
Drowning yourself in the river will hurt your body. But when they pull your corpse out of the water they aren’t going to say, “Wow, it looks like he died from the drowning disease.” It doesn’t make sense. So when Charlie Rose puts some more mild pressure on this guy, he just says, well, the AMA overwhelmingly agrees with me. So shut up and accept the fact that obesity is a disease. Science commands it. You don&#8217;t get to ask questions.
It&#8217;s not hard to see what&#8217;s going on here. The point is to medicalize the human condition and remove human agency by turning all vice into an illness. And in the process, big pharma makes a lot of money. It&#8217;s less clear why exactly anyone should take Oprah seriously concerning this topic. Back in December, Oprah <a href="https://people.com/oprah-winfrey-reveals-weight-loss-medication-exclusive-8414552" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disclosed</a> that she has been taking a nonspecific weight-loss medication herself. More recently, just weeks before this primetime infomercial aired, Oprah <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/01/1235100405/after-nearly-a-decade-oprah-winfrey-is-set-to-depart-the-board-of-weightwatchers#:~:text=Oprah%20Winfrey%20plans%20on%20leaving,next%20shareholder%20meeting%20in%20May." target="_blank" rel="noopener">stepped aside</a> from her role on the board of Weight Watchers this month, claiming it could present a conflict of interest.
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In reality, the conflict is so obvious and so significant, that it completely undercuts the integrity of Oprah&#8217;s special, no matter what she does. Last year, Weight Watchers <a href="https://corporate.ww.com/news/news-details/2023/WW-International-Inc.-Completes-Acquisition-of-Sequence/default.aspx#:~:text=(NASDAQ%3A%20WW)%20(%E2%80%9C,specializing%20in%20chronic%20weight%20management." target="_blank" rel="noopener">purchased</a> a tele-health startup called Sequence that connects customers with doctors who are ready and willing to prescribe Ozempic. Weight Watchers realized that its model of preaching personal willpower and self-control was going out of style, so in a last-ditch effort to save the company, they started <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/14/business/weightwatchers-ozempic-weight-loss/index.html#:~:text=The%20support%20program%20is%20included,care%20physician%20if%20they%20prefer." target="_blank" rel="noopener">selling</a> $99-a-month subscriptions to connect their customers with these weight-loss drugs. Oprah was on the board of Weight Watchers during that period.
Given that background, it&#8217;s hard to be impressed with the fact that Oprah left Weight Watchers&#8217; board *right before* airing a special that stands to benefit both Weight Watchers and their new partners in big pharma. This would be a little like Hunter Biden suddenly leaving his extremely well-paying job on the board of a Ukrainian oil company, a few days before flying Joe Biden into Kiev on a private jet to fire the attorney general looking into the oil company. It doesn&#8217;t really look good, under any circumstances.
But the possibility that Oprah is a corrupt saleswoman isn&#8217;t really the story here. Everyone knew that already. The fact that virtually every medical expert in the country has been lying to you about obesity is the story. It&#8217;s not a disease. It&#8217;s not a chronic disorder that only some miracle drug can fix. That whole idea is a scam — one that the AMA deliberately started spreading more than a decade ago. And everything we&#8217;ve heard from the medical community since — including this transparent, cringeworthy Oprah infomercial this week — has been designed to perpetuate that scam. They want you to believe you don&#8217;t have any agency over your body or your life, so they can sell you a supply of drugs that cost $1,000 a month. Don&#8217;t fall for it.

Oprah Winfrey

Virtually Every Medical Expert Is Lying To You About Obesity. Here’s The Proof.

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