WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Presidential Commission to Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, has released a groundbreaking assessment identifying key drivers behind the childhood chronic disease crisis. The report exposes a range of contributing factors behind the crisis - including poor diet, accumulation of environmental toxins, insufficient physical activity, chronic stress, and overmedicalization.
By examining these drivers, the assessment arms MAHA Commission stakeholders and partners with clear evidence that will support the development of effective policy interventions where they can deliver the greatest impact.
'We will end the childhood chronic disease crisis by attacking its root causes head-on-not just managing its symptoms,' said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
As per data provided by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, more than 1 in 5 children over 6 years are obese in the United States. This is a more than 270 percent increase compared to the 1970s.
Prevalence of pre-diabetes is more than 1 in 4 teens, having more than doubled over the last two decades.
Childhood cancer incidence has risen over nearly 40 percent since 1975, especially in children below 19.
Autism spectrum disorder impacts 1 in 31 children by age 8.
Teenage depression rates nearly doubled from 2009 to 2019, with more than 1 in 4 teenage girls in 2022 reporting a major depressive episode in the past year.
Three million high school students seriously considered suicide in 2023, according to HHS.
Between 1997 and 2018, childhood food-allergy prevalence rose 88 percent, it says.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
