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U.S. children’s health going downhill

            A very significant paper was published this month in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. It is the loudest wake-up call that I have heard yet, warning us of a deadly trend: American children from birth to age 19 years are nearly twice as likely to die as a cohort from 18 other high-income nations. Nearly half (!) – 45.7 percent — have a chronic health condition such as autism, sleep apnea, behavioral disorders and depression, among others. Nearly 21 percent of children are obese. (The figure was 5.2 percent in 1974.) The type 2 diabetes epidemic among children shows no slowing trend.

            It’s frightening to think what this scenario will be like two or three generations from now, knowing that the several causes of these conditions are unlikely to be reversed without severe, draconian regulations that no politician dares to propose. The multiple causes have been staring us in the face for decades but there is no national will to eliminate them.

            A major cause of the decline in our children’s health is the lack of outdoor exercise. Kid power is no longer needed for bicycles, skateboards or scooters. Team sports are over-organized, so that the kids expend minimal energy. A study of PE classes in schools revealed that the students were actually moving for only ten minutes out of an allotted hour.

            Processed foods high in salt and sugar have replaced vegetables. More than half of children are deficient in omega-3 fats that are crucial for brain development and function.

            The recent decision to remove artificial dyes from candy and other forms of junk food will have only a minuscule effect on children’s health. It is junk food, not just its coloring, that should disappear from grocery shelves. That is unlikely and so is the prospect that the nation’s children’s health issues will be reversed in this generation. The only hope is that individuals and their families will follow a healthy lifestyle.