Mike Tyson says he wants to be 'a hero' against obesity in MAHA event

VIDEO SHOWS: FORMER BOXING HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION, MIKE TYSON, HHS SECRETARY ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. AND AGRICULTURE SECRETARY BROOKE ROLLINS HOLDING AN EVENT TO PROMOTE THE DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS, 2025-2030 / SOUNDBITES FROM TYSON, KENNEDY JR. AND ROLLINS RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 11, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all) 1. UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE, BROOKE ROLLINS, APPROACHING PODIUM, FOLLOWED BY U.S. HEALTH SECRETARY ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE, BROOKE ROLLINS, SAYING: "Every day the U.S. Department of Agriculture spends almost $400 million on our 16 nutrition programs. That, my friends, is a market mover in a way that we can really begin to make America healthy again. We're going to make American agriculture great again, and we're going to do that because of the gentleman standing right next to me. Please stand up and give him the applause and the thank you he deserves. Our secretary of Health and Human Services, my incredible partner, Bobby Kennedy." 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. HEALTH SECRETARY, ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., SAYING: "For the first time in our nation's history, the federal government put real food at the center of the American diet and protein in the center of the American plate. For decades, Washington lied to Americans. They told us that real food was no better than ultra processed food. That claim defied science and ignored commonsense, and it betrayed American families. It justified hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies for ultra processed products fueled by nationwide health collapse that drove trillions of dollars in health care costs. Now threaten our economy and our future and make our children that second generation in our nation's history, and the sickest children in the world." 4. KENNEDY JR. AND ROLLINS WELCOMING FORMER BOXING HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION MIKE TYSON ON THE STAGE 5. WHITE FLASH 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER BOXING HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION, MIKE TYSON, SAYING: "First of all, I'd like to thank the president and Secretary Kennedy, Peter and now Brett Ratner and everybody that helped me and have anything to do allowing me to be a part of the commercial for the Super Bowl. And once they were telling me the situation, what it was about, obesity, I was telling them my experience that I had a sister that died at 25 from obesity. And where I come from in Brownsville, Brooklyn is the most violent, poverty-stricken neighborhood in the city in New York. And ultra, ultra processed food was just the norm. Everything was processed food. We didn't have much money, but we have food stamps and food stamps to buy, the candy, the sugar and all that sort of soda and all that rotten stuff. And that's just all we knew. And the food that we ate with pretty much processed, it was given to us, like guts and stews and stuff, weird animals. And I just wanted to be a part of this because that was such a part of my life. I grew up, I grew up upstate New York with a master fight trainer. And so he gave me a lifestyle. So obesity is totally out of my life. And sometimes I fool around, I gain 14, 20 pounds. I'm really lazy, but I have a lifestyle and I lose it like this. That's why I'm just such a fan. And this is the biggest fight of my life. I want to be, I want to be a hero in this particular field because it affects my life. Every time I see someone who may be obese, I have an affinity for them. I want to be close to. I want to talk to them and let them know that I'm their friend without saying, 'Hey, you remind me of my sister' and I'm just very grateful to be here and fight this fight. It's going to be a fight that I look forward to. Thank you very much, everyone for having me." 7. TYSON POSING FOR PHOTOS WITH KENNEDY JR. AND ROLLINS, LEAVING STORY: Boxing legend Mike Tyson joined top U.S. officials at a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) event on Wednesday (February 11), sharing his personal journey with obesity and his commitment to fighting for healthier communities. Tyson, who said he lost his sister to obesity-related illness at age 25, spoke candidly about the impact of processed foods growing up in Brooklyn. "This is the biggest fight of my life. I want to be a hero in this particular field because it affects my life," Tyson said. The MAHA campaign 'Eat Real Food', backed by the Department of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, aims to shift Americans toward real, unprocessed foods and aired an ad during the Super Bowl LX featuring Tyson advocating for healthier eating habits. (Production: Gershon Peaks, Geraldine Downer, Ivan Romero)

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