(NewsNation) — Companies are paying online influencers to promote unhealthy food, according to Dr. Mark Hyman, who said the United States is in a “national emergency around our health.”

“We’re in a metabolic health crisis that’s caused by the food we’re eating and there’s an enormous effort by the food industry to confuse and confound the public,” Hyman said Friday on “CUOMO.” “They’ve created this anti-diet movement where they’re paying influencers, who are not transparent, to promote eating all kinds of junk online, saying it’s fine to do without any inhibition.”

According to an investigation by The Washington Post and the nonprofit news organization The Examination, General Mills is leading the anti-diet movement.

Some of the marketing efforts conducted by GM competitor Kellogg’s, however, may be inspired by inflationary pressures. CEO Gary Pilnick recently faced backlash after suggesting that cash-strapped households save money by eating cereal for dinner.

Pilnick, who oversees the company that produces Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops and Corn Flakes, floated the idea in the wake of federal data showing Americans are spending more on food than they have in 30 years.

Hyman says efforts go further, however, with companies lobbying the government to oppose “any regulations that inhibit any access to their food or any knowledge about their food.”

“God forbid we should label foods with the actual label of what’s in them. In Europe and in South America there are clear warning labels on the front of packages saying, ‘This is bad for you,’ just like cigarettes … they’re spending millions and millions of dollars trying to prevent us from doing the right thing.”

Those trying to lose weight should also be cautious as they consider drugs such as Ozempic as a “quick fix,” he said, warning that side effects can include muscle loss and metabolism changes.

“First, we have to deal with the toxic food carnival that we live in called America,” he said.