The health of U.S. kids has declined significantly since 2007, a new study finds [NPR]

I feel like the article is a bit all over the place. I agree with much of it, but I have issues with some of the points.

In particular, the prevalence of depression, anxiety, sleep apnea and obesity all increased, as did rates of autism, behavioral problems, developmental delays and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Reports of problems such as poor sleep, limited physical activity, early-onset menstruation and loneliness also rose.

A lot of this is the sudden lack of child activity. Before, it was strange for a child to stay inside all day. I had video game systems, but I would never go more than a day without going outside and doing whatever.

Autism awareness has changed radically in the past 20 years. It is not fair to compare autism now vs 2007.

I feel that ADHD has also lost much of its stigma, enough that parents are actively asking for screening instead of working on holistic methods. Gatorade was my medicine, if you must ask.

I don't know enough about women's health to comment on really menstruation, so I'll leave that to someone else.

2 comments

I feel like the article is a bit all over the place. I agree with much of it, but I have issues with some of the points.
In particular, the prevalence of depression, anxiety, sleep apnea and obesity all increased, as did rates of autism, behavioral problems, developmental delays and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Reports of problems such as poor sleep, limited physical activity, early-onset menstruation and loneliness also rose.
A lot of this is the sudden lack of child activity. Before, it was strange for a child to stay inside all day. I had video game systems, but I would never go more than a day without going outside and doing whatever.
Autism awareness has changed radically in the past 20 years. It is not fair to compare autism now vs 2007.
I feel that ADHD has also lost much of its stigma, enough that parents are actively asking for screening instead of working on holistic methods. Gatorade was my medicine, if you must ask.
I don't know enough about women's health to comment on really menstruation, so I'll leave that to someone else.
"What we found is that from 2010 to 2023, kids in the United States were 80% more likely to die" than their peers in these [European] nations
Wonder which of the big 3 (pollution, bigger cars/trucks, and gun violence) is more responsible for this