Everyone should be concerned about recent reports in respected medical journals about the decline in American children’s health. While this is not particularly new information, the data and details summarized in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) this August are very scary.
The report found American children’s health declined profoundly over the past few decades. Dr. Chris Forrest, co-author of the above study, states this isn’t about a genetic defect unique to American children and it’s not about socioeconomics within the US.
Children in the US are dying at a much higher rate than those in similar high-income countries. In the 15 years of study (2007 to 2022) children aged 1 -19 years old were 1.8 (almost 2) times more likely to die than children of other high-income countries. The biggest disparities were in deaths from gun violence and traffic accidents; children in the US were 15 times more likely than children in other countries to die by firearms and more than twice as likely to die in motor vehicle crashes.
Everyone should be concerned about recent reports in respected medical journals about the decline in American children’s health. While this is not particularly new information, the data and details summarized in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) this August are very scary.
The report found American children’s health declined profoundly over the past few decades. Dr. Chris Forrest, co-author of the above study, states this isn’t about a genetic defect unique to American children and it’s not about socioeconomics within the US.
Children in the US are dying at a much higher rate than those in similar high-income countries. In the 15 years of study (2007 to 2022) children aged 1 -19 years old were 1.8 (almost 2) times more likely to die than children of other high-income countries. The biggest disparities were in deaths from gun violence and traffic accidents; children in the US were 15 times more likely than children in other countries to die by firearms and more than twice as likely to die in motor vehicle crashes.
Chronic conditions were the focus of the recent Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission that said chronic disease had made children “the sickest generation in American history” and blamed ultra-processed food, exposure to chemicals in the environment, pervasive technology use and the overuse of prescriptions.
Pediatricians from Virginia and Washington wrote, “While the MAHA movement is drawing welcome attention to chronic diseases and important root causes, such as ultra-processed foods, it is pursuing other policies that will work against the health interest of children.” They noted the massive budget cuts at the US Department of Health and Human Services that did provide injury prevention, safe sleep programs, Medicaid reductions, shrinking mental health funding and sound vaccine advice.
Dr. Forrest says “Our kids are being raised in a very toxic environment, and it is not just chemicals, It’s not just the food and iPhones. It’s much broader. It’s much deeper…it will be very challenging to change it…It’s the whole nation that needs help.”
To see major improvements in childhood health in the US, Dr. Forrest believes the country will need to undergo a major transformation. In other countries, day care workers are professionals who get paid a living wage, so kids get quality care. Children are the canary for the whole nations’ deteriorating health.
By Sally Robinson
Sally Robinson, MD Clinical Professor
Keeping Kids Healthy
10/2025
Also See: UTMB Pediatrics - Pediatric Primary Care