MAHA wellness culture is coming for teens. Grown-ups aren’t ready.
A new generation of young influencers in their teens and early 20s is reshaping the 'Make America Healthy Again' (MAHA) movement with wellness content tailored to younger audiences. While their messaging often centers on healthy eating and self-empowerment, experts warn it can lead to conspiratorial thinking and distrust in medical institutions. Educators are concerned about the spread of health misinformation among teens and are seeking ways to build critical thinking around online content.
- ▪Young MAHA influencers like Lexi Vrachalus, Grace Price, and Ava Noe are creating wellness content that resonates with teens through relatable, lifestyle-focused videos.
- ▪Though MAHA content promotes healthy living, it often serves as a gateway to broader conspiratorial beliefs and skepticism toward mainstream medicine.
- ▪A 2024 News Literacy Project survey found that 80 percent of teens encounter conspiracy theories online, with Covid-19 and public health misinformation being the second most common type.
- ▪Experts like Whitney Phillips warn that MAHA-influenced content often promotes the idea of a secretive cabal misleading the public, particularly targeting liberal institutions.
- ▪Despite lower MAHA identification among youth compared to adults, increasing exposure to wellness misinformation online is raising concerns among educators and public health officials.
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The HighlightMAHA wellness culture is coming for teens. Grown-ups aren’t ready.A new generation of influencers is changing the face of the movement.by Anna NorthApr 28, 2026, 10:00 AM UTCShareGift Naomi Elliott for VoxAnna North is a senior correspondent for Vox, where she covers American family life, work, and education. Previously, she was an editor and writer at the New York Times. She is also the author of four novels, including the forthcoming Bog Queen, which you can preorder here.For years, the “Make America Healthy Again” movement was driven by moms.Concerned about the safety of childhood vaccines and about chemicals in the food their kids were eating, they helped propel Donald Trump to the White House — and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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