As summer break gets underway and the days stretch long, the nation's top health official has a simple, refreshingly old-fashioned message for American families: step away from the screens and step outside together.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered the appeal in a video filmed while hiking through a Colorado national park, paired with the launch of a new government website, GetActive.gov. The site is the latest piece of the administration's "Take Back Your Health" effort and its broader "Make America Healthy Again" theme, as reported by PJ Media.
Too Many Hours on Screens
Kennedy's central concern is one that resonates in living rooms across the country: kids are spending far too much of their childhood staring at glowing rectangles. "Our 16-year-olds are now spending 8.5 hours per day on [screens]," Kennedy noted, pointing to a generation he described as increasingly isolated and anxious.
His prescription isn't a pill. It's connection. Kennedy framed time spent with other people and time spent in God's creation as a genuine remedy for both the chronic-disease crisis and the mental-health struggles facing young Americans. The message is one that faith-and-family households have long understood: there is no app that can replace a shared hike, a family dinner around real food, or a child playing freely outdoors until the streetlights come on.
"Get Active, Eat Real Food, Live Real Life"
The new GetActive.gov resource lays out the vision plainly. "President Trump and Secretary Kennedy are driving a nationwide effort to Make America Healthy Again by confronting the root causes of chronic disease," the site reads. "Through the Take Back Your Health initiative, they are empowering every American to Get Active, Eat Real Food, and Live Real Life."
The practical guidance is straightforward and achievable for ordinary families. Officials are encouraging Americans to aim for at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week, add a couple of days of strength-building exercise, and choose whole, real food over processed junk. None of it requires a gym membership or a special diet — just a willingness to get moving and get outdoors.
Kennedy unveiled the initiative in Grand Junction, Colorado, alongside Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, tying the health message to the administration's work to expand access to public lands and outdoor recreation. The pairing makes sense: America's parks, trails and open spaces are a ready-made gift for families looking to unplug.
For families weighing how to spend the summer, the secretary's invitation is both timely and hopeful. The screens will still be there in the fall. But the long evenings, the warm weather and the wide-open trails won't wait. As Kennedy's message makes clear, the path back to health for many American kids may start with something as simple — and as wholesome — as walking out the front door together.
