HJNO Jul/Aug 2025

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  JUL / AUG 2025 15 16 Divers, J., Mayer-Davis, E. J., Lawrence, J. M., et al. (2020). Trends in incidence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes among youths — Selected counties and Indian reservations, United States, 2002–2015. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69(6), 161–165. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6906a3. 17 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, November 29). National diabetes statistics report: Estimates of diabetes and its burden in the United States. https:// stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/148231. 18 Fang, M., Wang, D., & Selvin, E. (2024). Prevalence of type 1 diabetes among US children and adults by age, sex, race, and ethnicity. JAMA, 331(16), 1411-1413. 19 Tönnies, T., Brinks, R., Isom, S., Dabelea, D., Divers, J., Mayer-Davis, E. J., ... & Imperatore, G. (2023). Projections of type 1 and type 2 diabetes burden in the US population aged< 20 years through 2060: the SEARCH for diabetes in youth study. Diabetes Care, 46(2), 313-320. 20 Liu, J., Li, Y., Zhang, D., Yi, S. S., & Liu, J. (2022). Trends in prediabetes among youths in the US from 1999 through 2018. JAMA pediatrics, 176(6), 608-611. 21 Andes, L. J., Cheng, Y. J., Rolka, D. B., Gregg, E. W., & Imperatore, G. (2020). Prevalence of prediabetes among adolescents and young adults in the United States, 2005- 2016. JAMA pediatrics, 174(2), e194498-e194498. 22 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Autism data & research. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. https://www.cdc.gov/ autism/data-research/index.html. 23 Shaw, K. A., Williams, S., Patrick, M. E., et al. (2025). Prevalence and early identification of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 4 and 8 years — Autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, 16 sites, United States, 2022. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 74(SS-2), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss7402a1. 24 Talantseva, O. I., Romanova, R. S., Shurdova, E. M., Dolgorukova, T. A., Sologub, P. S., Titova, O. S., ... & Grigorenko, E. L. (2023). The global prevalence of autism spectrum disorder: A three-level meta-analysis. Frontiers in psychiatry, 14, 1071181. 25 Treffert D. A. (1970). Epidemiology of infantile autism. Archives of general psychiatry, 22(5), 431–438. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1970.01740290047006. 26 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5601a1.htm. 27 Danielson, M. L., Claussen, A. H., Bitsko, R. H., Katz, S. M., Newsome, K., Blumberg, S. J., ... & Ghandour, R. (2024). ADHD prevalence among US children and adolescents in 2022: diagnosis, severity, co-occurring disorders, and treatment. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 53(3), 343-360. 28 Zablotsky, B., Ng, A. E., Black, L. I., & Blumberg, S. J. (2023, July 13). Diagnosed developmental disabilities in children aged 3–17 years: United States, 2019–2021 (NCHS Data Brief No. 473). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/129520. 29 Zablotsky, B., Black, L. I., Maenner, M. J., Schieve, L. A., Danielson, M. L., Bitsko, R. H., ... & Boyle, C. A. (2019). Prevalence and trends of developmental disabilities among children in the United States: 2009–2017. Pediatrics, 144(4). 30 National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). Students with disabilities. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgg. 31 National Cancer Institute, SEER-8 Registries, 1975-2022. sedentary lifestyles, these factors are converging to produce a chronically stressed, sick, and isolated generation. This crisis is undermin- ing national resilience and competitiveness. The purpose of this report is radical transparency about our current state to spur a conversation about how we can build a world – together – where: • American farmers are put at the center of how we think about health. • The American healthcare system thrives when disease is prevented and reversed, not just “managed” in a sick-care system. • The Great American Comeback of energy dominance powers AI technology that will develop new tools and push the frontiers of sci- ence to help us better understand how to measure and reverse chronic disease. • The next ten years see a revolution in living standards and prosperity, while we understand how to better manage the increased threats to our children’s health that come from industrialization. America will begin reversing the childhood chronic disease crisis during this administration by getting to the truth of why we are getting sick and spurring pro-growth policies and innovations to reverse these trends. These concerning trends persist despite decades of federal investment in nutrition stan- dards, physical activity campaigns, chemical risk assessments, and clinical quality initiatives. Still, childhood chronic disease continues to rise. To Make Our Children Healthy Again, we must go further. This assessment begins with a shared understanding of the crisis. The Chronic Disease Crisis: A Generation at Risk America’s children are facing an unprecedented health crisis. Over 40% of the roughly 73 million children (aged 0-17) in the United States have at least one chronic health condition, according to the CDC, such as asthma, allergies, obesity, autoimmune diseases, or behavioral disorders. 7 Although estimates vary depending on the conditions included, all studies show an alarming increase over time. 8 9 This chronic disease crisis has far-reaching consequences: Over 75% of American youth (aged 17- 24) are ineligible for military service—primarily due to obesity, poor physical fitness, and/or mental health challenges. 10 Here, we provide a brief overview of the problem – the main epidemiological trends related to childhood chronic disease in America, including obesity, diabetes, neurodevelopmental disorders, cancer, mental health, autoimmune disorders, and allergies. Childhood Obesity is a Worsening Health Crisis • Today in the U.S. more than 1 in 5 children over 6 years old are obese. 11 This is a more than 270% increase compared to the 1970s, when less than one in twenty children over 6 were obese. 12 • Rates of severe obesity increased by over 500% in the same period. • The U.S. obesity rate is, on average, more than double that of its G7 peers. • Approximately 80% of obese teens will become obese adults be obese into adulthood. 13 In Louisiana, more than half of all children — 50.5% — live with at least one chronic health condition, the fourth-highest rate in the nation. Source: Academic Pediatrics, 2011; see state- level “1+ of 20 Chronic Conditions” data on the supplemental materials page at https:// www.academicpedsjnl.net/article/S1876- 2859(10)00250-0/fulltext#supplementary- material 75% of Louisianans aged 17–24 are ineligible to join the military, making Louisiana the second-worst state in the U.S. for enlistment eligibility. Source: Unhealthy and Unprepared, Council for a Strong America (2017), quoting U.S. Department of Defense https://strongnation.s3.amazonaws.com/ documents/484/389765e0-2500-49a2-9a67- 5c4a090a215b.pdf 23.1% of children ages 6 through 17 in Louisiana are obese — the third-highest rate in the country. The state’s cost of childhood obesity-related illness has risen from $35 million to $127 million over the past two decades. Source: National Survey of Children’s Health, childhealthdata.org ; Pennington Biomedical Research Center. https://www. pbrc.edu/research-trials/programs/pediatrics- programs.aspx