American children have some of the worst health statistics in the world. Find out where American children need to improve.   

The following pedcast is an archived pedcast, first published April 2, 2019

Image by Sasin Tipchai and Pixaby Images.

Voice Introduction
If you are like me, being American is a source of great pride... a country that is full of generous, kind, empathetic people. To me, it seems like we have always been the first to arrive when others need help. We freely give our energy and wealth when others are in need. So why is it that when our own children need our help, we are often slow to take action? For reasons I am about to describe to you, I believe our children need our help now! In many respects, as I am about to show you, our children's physical and mental health are crumbling on world standards and it is up to us to do something. The need for action is immediate and vital to our children's future. In today's pedcast, I am going to challenge you and myself to take action. So stay tuned for this important edition of Portable Practical Pediatrics.
Musical Introduction
Let Me Be Blunt
I started this podcast eight years ago to help inform parents about child health topics to help them raise healthy children. I am proud of the fact that my long time listeners are some of the best informed parents out there.  But so many parents don't have a clue that many of the everyday decisions they are making for their children are really hurting them. News flash, the state of well-being, both physically and mentally, of American children seems to be on a steep downward trajectory. Not for all children but for many of them. To show you what I am talking about, let's take some accepted clear markers of health and wellness and see where American children are today compared to children around the world, shall we?
Dubious Honor #1: High Obesity Rate
We have all heard about the obesity epidemic among American children but do you really understand the magnitude of the crisis? 31% overweight and 17% frankly obese. Our children are off the charts outliers on world standards. You can easily see this by looking at obesity rates among 15 year olds by country.
And remember, their obesity is likely to translate into a whole host of physical problems for them as they age. Said another way, these children's obesity  may ruin their chances of having a healthy adult life. We are already beginning to see indications of this. Consider the following facts:

The average life spans among Americans has begun to fall for the past three years running.
Until recently, children just didn't develop diseases like type 2 diabetes during childhood. Now it is fairly common because of the obesity epidemic in American children.
Children have started developing a newly recognized obesity associated chronic liver disease called NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis). Again, this is only seen in very overweight children.
It is now fairly common for children to have weight associated orthopedic problems like hip fractures, during their childhoods!  Again, this is almost always weight associated.   
And finally, let's not forget the explosion of childhood allergic diseases. we are seeing in the U.S. --asthma, food allergy, allergic rhinitis and eczema. 

You see a pattern here? All of these have been linked to diet, lack of exercise, and lifestyle.
 
 
 
Dubious Honor #2: Poor Physical Fitness
Now let's switch gears and talk about another parameter of health in childhood, physical fitness. The news is not good here either; American children rank 47th out of 50 in a recent British Medical Journal assessment. That's an abysmal showing. Here is a quote from that study: BMJ study "Our study showed that the fittest kids were from Africa and Central-Northern ...