Top ultra-processed food scientist quits Donald Trump's NIH, for THIS shocking reason

Dr. Kevin Hall, a top National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientist who specializes in nutrition and metabolism, announced his early retirement Wednesday, after 21 years at the NIH, the agency now headed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. under the Donald Trump 2.0 administration.

The senior investigator at the US National Institutes of Health, who conducted some of the world’s only controlled trials on ultraprocessed foods, announced his retirement decision in a post on social media, citing censorship of communication of his research findings.



Reason for retirement:

Announcing his early retirement from NIH, Hall shared a statement via social media post, where he wrote, "Unfortunately, recent events have made me question whether NIH continues to be a place where I can freely conduct unbiased science."

Hall wrote, noting that it’s been his “life’s work” to “scientifically study how our food environment affects what we eat, and how what we eat affects our physiology” and that, given the new administration’s interest in those issues, he’d hoped to expand that research program.

He added, "Specifically, I experienced censorship in the reporting of our research because of agency concerns that it did not appear to fully support preconceived narratives of my agency's leadership about ultra-processed food addiction."

As per Hall’s account, "I was hoping this was an aberration. So, weeks ago I wrote to my agency's leadership expressing my concerns and requested time to discuss these issues, but I never received a response." He added, "Without any reassurance there wouldn't be continued censorship or meddling in our research, I felt compelled to accept early retirement to preserve health insurance for my family. (Resigning later in protest of any future meddling or censorship would result in losing that benefit.).”


What exactly happened?

Hall's letter to Kennedy and NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, which was shared among government officials and researchers, explains the departure of a key nutrition researcher from the administration focused on improving nutrition.


As reported by CNN, Hall requested a discussion with health leaders about how the food supply affects rising chronic disease rates—a concern for Kennedy and the MAHA movement. He expressed worries about disruptions to research and censorship.

In his March 28 letter, he said they often struggle to buy food for study participants and obtain supplies. He mentioned the bleak future of their studies due to not being able to replace outgoing trainees. Additionally, Hall noted instances of censorship regarding his research, particularly when an HHS communications director intervened in media coverage of his study on brain responses to ultra-processed foods.

The study, published March 4 in the journal Cell Metabolism, used brain imaging to see whether consuming ultraprocessed milkshakes high in fat and sugar caused reactions in dopamine similar to addictive drugs.

Hall and his team noted that their study results were not significant enough to be detected on PET scans.

In the letter, Hall claimed the HHS downplayed their findings to fit a narrative about ultra-processed food addiction, asserting his responses to a New York Times reporter were edited without his approval.

An HHS spokesperson denied this, but CNN found that the approved version of Hall's responses had been altered to highlight the study's small participant size of 50, whereas it was actually the largest of its kind.

Hall, whose best-known work also includes a series of studies following the outcomes of participants in the show “The Biggest Loser,” has been in the midst of a follow-up study at NIH to understand what it is about ultraprocessed foods that causes people to overeat them. That’s despite, he wrote in his letter, a 30% cut to the beds in the NIH clinical center available to conduct the trials.

It is noteworthy that this isn’t the first incident of alleged interference with health information; a federal official revealed in September 2020 that Trump appointees pressured the CDC to modify language in reports during the Covid-19 pandemic to align with the president’s messaging.


However, HHS isn’t ready to give in to Hall’s claims.

An HHS spokesperson told CNN, “It’s disappointing that this individual is fabricating false claims,” adding, “NIH scientists have, and will, continue to conduct interviews regarding their research through written responses or other means. We remain committed to promoting gold-standard research and advancing public health priorities. Any attempt to paint this as censorship is a deliberate distortion of the facts.”