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Japan Today
09-07-2025
- Health
- Japan Today
American kids have become increasingly unhealthy over nearly two decades, new study finds
Children run on the lawn at the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Mo. By LAURA UNGAR and JONEL ALECCIA The health of U.S. children has deteriorated over the past 17 years, with kids today more likely to have obesity, chronic diseases and mental health problems like depression, a new study says. Much of what researchers found was already known, but the study paints a comprehensive picture by examining various aspects of children's physical and mental health at the same time. 'The surprising part of the study wasn't any with any single statistic; it was that there's 170 indicators, eight data sources, all showing the same thing: a generalized decline in kids' health,' said Dr. Christopher Forrest, one of the authors of the study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has brought children's health to the forefront of the national policy conversation, unveiling in May a much-anticipated 'Make America Healthy Again' report that described kids as undernourished and overmedicated, and raised concerns about their lack of physical activity. But the Trump administration's actions — including cuts to federal health agencies, Medicaid and scientific research — are not likely to reverse the trend, according to outside experts who reviewed Monday's study. 'The health of kids in America is not as good as it should be, not as good as the other countries, and the current policies of this administration are definitely going to make it worse,' said Dr. Frederick Rivara, a pediatrician and researcher at the Seattle Children's Hospital and UW Medicine in Seattle. He co-authored an editorial accompanying the new study. Forrest and his colleagues analyzed surveys, electronic health records from 10 pediatric health systems and international mortality statistics. Among their findings: — Obesity rates for U.S. children 2-19 years old rose from 17% in 2007-2008 to about 21% in 2021-2023. — A U.S. child in 2023 was 15% to 20% more likely than a U.S. child in 2011 to have a chronic condition such as anxiety, depression or sleep apnea, according to data reported by parents and doctors. — Annual prevalence rates for 97 chronic conditions recorded by doctors rose from about 40% in 2011 to about 46% in 2023. — Early onset of menstruation, trouble sleeping, limitations in activity, physical symptoms, depressive symptoms and loneliness also increased among American kids during the study period. — American children were around 1.8 times more likely to die than kids in other high-income countries from 2007-2022. Being born premature and sudden unexpected death were much higher among U.S. infants, and firearm-related incidents and motor vehicle crashes were much more common among 1-19-year-old American kids than among those the same age in other countries examined. The research points to bigger problems with America's health, said Forrest, who is a pediatrician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. 'Kids are the canaries in the coal mine,' he said. ' When kids' health changes, it's because they're at increased vulnerability, and it reflects what's happening in society at large.' The timing of the study, he said, is 'completely fortuitous." Well before the 2024 presidential election, Forrest was working on a book about thriving over the life span and couldn't find this sort of comprehensive data on children's health. The datasets analyzed have some limitations and may not be applicable to the full U.S. population, noted Dr. James Perrin, a pediatrician and spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics, who wasn't involved in the study. 'The basic finding is true,' he said. The editorial published alongside the study said while the administration's MAHA movement is bringing welcome attention to chronic diseases, "it is pursuing other policies that will work against the interests of children.' Those include eliminating injury prevention and maternal health programs, canceling investments in a campaign addressing sudden infant death and 'fueling vaccine hesitancy among parents that may lead to a resurgence of deadly vaccine-preventable diseases," authors wrote. Officials from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department did not respond to a request for comment. Forrest said risks highlighted by the MAHA report, such as eating too much ultra-processed food, are real but miss the complex reality driving trends in children's health. 'We have to step back and take some lessons from the ecological sustainability community and say: Let's look at the ecosystem that kids are growing up in. And let's start on a kind of neighborhood-by-neighborhood, city-by-city basis, examining it,' he said. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
25-05-2025
- Health
- Japan Today
Measles are very contagious. Here's how to avoid getting infected
By DEVI SHASTRI and LAURA UNGAR New Jersey health officials are asking people who went to Shakira concert on May 16 at MetLife Stadium to monitor for measles symptoms because a person went to see the singer while infectious. There is no confirmed outbreak in New Jersey, but the U.S. and North America are seeing high measles activity this year — including hundreds sickened by the highly infectious airborne virus in West Texas — and declining rates of people getting the vaccine, which is 97% effective after two doses. Schools and daycares are among the most common places for measles exposures, like one that happened in three western North Dakota public schools in early May that led to all unvaccinated students being held at home for 21 days under state law. Here's what to know about the measles and how to protect yourself. Most U.S. children get vaccinated against measles before entering public school, but increasing numbers of people skipping shots for religious or personal reasons have fueled outbreaks in the U.S. and abroad this year. Overall, the U.S. has seen more than 1,000 measles cases across 30 states since the beginning of the year, and 11 states with outbreaks — defined as three or more related cases. The largest outbreak in the U.S. has been in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. There are also large outbreaks in Mexico and Canada. It's a respiratory disease caused by one of the world's most contagious viruses. The virus is airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It most commonly affects kids. 'On average, one infected person may infect about 15 other people,' said Scott Weaver, a center of excellence director for the Global Virus Network, an international coalition. 'There's only a few viruses that even come close to that.' Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash. The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC. There's no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable. People who have had measles once can't get it again, health officials say. It usually doesn't kill people, but it can. Common complications include ear infections and diarrhea. But about 1 in 5 unvaccinated Americans who get measles are hospitalized, the CDC said. Pregnant women who haven't gotten the vaccine may give birth prematurely or have a low-birthweight baby. Among children with measles, about 1 in every 20 develops pneumonia, the CDC said, and about one in every 1,000 suffers swelling of the brain called encephalitis — which can lead to convulsions, deafness or intellectual disability. 'Children develop the most severe illness," said Weaver, who works at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. "The cause of death in these kinds of cases is usually pneumonia and complications from pneumonia.' The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old. 'Before a vaccine was developed in the 1960s, everybody got' measles, Weaver said. There is 'great data' on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, he said, because it's been around for decades. 'Any of these outbreaks we're seeing can easily be prevented by increasing the rate of vaccination in the community,' he said. 'If we can maintain 95% of people vaccinated, we're not going to see this happening in the future. And we've slipped well below that level in many parts of the country.' Vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, and most states are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks. Not usually. People who are vaccinated are considered protected against measles for their lifetime. Health care providers can test for antibodies and give boosters if needed. Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don't need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from 'killed' virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said. People who have documentation that they had measles are immune, and those born before 1957 generally don't need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have 'presumptive immunity.' Weaver said people at high risk for infection who got the shots many years ago may want to consider getting a booster if they live in an area with an outbreak. Those may include family members living with someone who has measles or those especially vulnerable to respiratory diseases because of underlying medical conditions. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
