A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association says the health of American children has been plummeting for nearly two decades.
Dr. Ann Kellams is a professor in UVA’s Department of Pediatrics. She has been a practicing pediatrician since 1995 and joined the faculty at UVA in 2006. (Contributed photo)
The findings say young people are experiencing rising rates of obesity, mental health troubles, chronic disease and early puberty, especially in girls.
The chronic conditions with the largest increases include major depression, eating disorders, anxiety, autism spectrum disorder and obesity, with obesity rates for children aged 2 to 19 increasing from 17% to 20.9% between 2007 and 2023.
Dr. Ann Kellams, a pediatrician at UVA Health Children’s who has been in the field for 30 years, said the findings were not surprising.
“The landscape of primary care pediatrics has gone from one of quick visits and infectious disease types of problems to behavior, mental health, poor nutrition, school problems, obesity – things that aren’t solved in a quick visit,” Kellams said.
To help address those issues, UVA Health Children’s and Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital recently opened UVA Health Children’s Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Health Clinic in Riverside. Kellams said the day the facility began operating, families immediately began signing up for care.
Kellams, who was one of the first people in North America to become board-certified in breastfeeding and lactation medicine, said breastfeeding is key to setting children on a path to good health.
