The health of American children has declined steadily over the past 17 years, with rising rates of obesity, chronic diseases, and mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety, according to a new comprehensive study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
While many of the individual trends have been reported before, the study stands out for its scope—analyzing 170 indicators using eight major data sources, including national surveys, electronic health records, and international mortality statistics.
“The surprising part wasn’t any single statistic,” said study co-author Dr. Christopher Forrest of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “It was that all the data showed the same thing: a generalized decline in kids’ health.”
Among the study’s key findings:
Obesity in children aged 2–19 increased from 17% in 2007–2008 to about 21% in 2021–2023.
Chronic health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and sleep apnea, are 15% to 20% more common than they were in 2011.
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The prevalence of chronic conditions rose from 40% in 2011 to 46% in 2023.
Children reported increased rates of early menstruation, sleep difficulties, depressive symptoms, and social isolation.
Between 2007 and 2022, U.S. children were 1.8 times more likely to die than their peers in other wealthy nations—due largely to premature births, sudden unexpected infant deaths, gun violence, and motor vehicle crashes.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative recently highlighted similar concerns, describing children as “undernourished and overmedicated.” However, medical experts warn that the Trump administration’s cuts to public health programs, Medicaid, and scientific research may further harm child health outcomes.
“This administration’s other policies are working against the interests of children,” said Dr. Frederick Rivara, a pediatrician at Seattle Children's Hospital, in an editorial accompanying the study. He also warned that reducing investments in maternal health, ending injury prevention efforts, and promoting vaccine hesitancy could worsen child mortality and disease outbreaks.
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Dr. Forrest emphasized that solving the crisis requires looking beyond individual behavior. “We need to examine the ecosystem children are growing up in—neighborhood by neighborhood—and take a holistic approach to improving health,” he said.
Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services did not comment on the findings.
Source: Agency