In a striking departure from conventional health advocacy, the Trump administration has appointed former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson as its official healthy-eating ambassador. The 59-year-old sports icon, whose life has traversed extraordinary peaks and valleys, now fronts a national campaign urging Americans to reject ultra-processed foods under the slogan “Eat Real Food.”
The initiative gained massive exposure through a Super Bowl commercial that featured Tyson’s personal journey with nutrition and weight struggles. During a Wednesday event alongside Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tyson characterized this advocacy as “the biggest fight of my life,” drawing parallels between his boxing career and his current mission.
Tyson’s appointment represents a calculated alignment with the administration’s broader health policy overhaul, which includes Kennedy’s recent inversion of the traditional food pyramid to prioritize meat and whole-milk dairy products over fiber-rich whole grains. This structural change has drawn criticism from nutrition experts who suspect agricultural industry influence.
The boxing legend brings visceral credibility to the campaign, recounting how his sister Denise died of a heart attack at 25 due to obesity-related complications. He described his childhood in Brownsville, Brooklyn—”the most violent, poverty-struck neighborhood in New York City”—where ultra-processed foods dominated dietary patterns. Tyson revealed reaching 345 pounds during his darkest periods, confessing in the campaign ad: “I had so much self-hate. I just wanted to kill myself.”
Government statistics confirm Americans consume disproportionately high amounts of ultra-processed foods compared to other nations, contributing to elevated rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The campaign directly challenges this status quo through Tyson’s compelling narrative of transformation and redemption.