One recent morning, curiosity led me to a video promoting Mr. Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement. With the hospital’s cacophony of ventilator and heart rate monitor sounds in the background, I watched Mr. Kennedy stand in a grassy field and promise to find and target the root causes of chronic illness — with few actual specifics.

Until recently, most Americans had never heard the term “seed oils,” even though they’ve likely cooked with and consumed them for decades. It’s the catchy description coined by internet influencers, wellness gurus and some politicians to refer to common cooking oils — think canola,

Martin Makary, an author and surgeon at Johns Hopkins University, has appeared frequently on Fox News to talk about health issues.

A state Senate committee on Tuesday advanced a resolution to form a task force aimed at determining how to implement Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” strategies in Kentucky, where chronic health conditions such as heart disease and obesity are ...