After nearly two decades of government “solutions,” American children are now sicker, sadder, and facing a future more bleak than their parents could have ever imagined—so how did we become the generation that failed our own kids?
At a Glance
- Comprehensive new study confirms U.S. children’s health has declined sharply since 2007.
- Obesity, chronic diseases, and mental health problems have all surged among American youth.
- The U.S. spends more per child on healthcare than any country, yet ranks near the bottom in outcomes.
- Experts call for action, but policy debates drag on as families bear the burden of failed leadership.
Children Sicker Under Decades of “Progressive” Policy
America’s kids have never been more coddled by government programs, more closely monitored by bureaucrats, and more shielded from “harmful” influences—yet the data tells a devastating story. A major study published in July 2025 in JAMA blasts the myth that ever-expanding federal involvement equals better outcomes. Instead, researchers found that from 2007 to 2023, American children suffered a broad decline in health: rising obesity, skyrocketing chronic diseases, and a mental health crisis that now leaves U.S. children 1.8 times more likely to die than their peers in other wealthy countries.
In 2007, 17% of children ages 2–19 were obese. By 2023, that number had exploded to 21%. Chronic physical and mental conditions—everything from asthma and diabetes to depression and anxiety—are up. The study’s authors didn’t mince words: “The health of America’s children is getting worse, not better, despite the highest healthcare spending in the world.” All this after years of government “investment,” new regulations, and a parade of well-funded initiatives supposedly aimed at protecting the nation’s youth. If this is what “progress” looks like, parents have every right to ask: progress for whom?
Runaway Spending, Runaway Decline
American taxpayers fork over more per child for healthcare than any other nation on the planet. The result isn’t healthier kids—it’s more bureaucracy, more red tape, and more frustration. The bureaucrats’ answer to every problem: throw more of your money at it. Yet, as the study points out, the U.S. remains an outlier in the developed world, with worse child health outcomes than peer nations that spend less. The experts wring their hands, calling for “community-based interventions,” “neighborhood action plans,” and—of course—more funding.
Meanwhile, families watch their children’s health spiral and wonder why schools are more focused on “inclusive” bathroom policies and climate activism than on teaching basic nutrition, physical education, or personal responsibility. The left points fingers at everything but their own failed policies—blaming economic inequality, advertising, or “unsafe neighborhoods”—never the parade of mandates, subsidies, and government programs that have ballooned over the same period children’s health has plummeted.
America’s Kids: Canaries in a Coal Mine
Doctors and experts warn that children are the “canaries in the coal mine”—the first to show the effects of a society off the rails. Ultra-processed diets, endless screen time, unsafe neighborhoods, fractured families, and a culture that celebrates victimhood over resilience have left kids physically and emotionally weaker than ever. The study’s independent data is clear: every indicator—obesity, chronic conditions, mental health, and mortality—is moving in the wrong direction. And yet, every election cycle, the same politicians promise that just one more program, one more round of funding, one more layer of bureaucracy will fix the problem they created. Common sense says otherwise.
Families in low-income areas and communities of color pay the highest price for this failure, seeing higher rates of illness and fewer opportunities for their kids to thrive. Schools and local governments are left to patch up the mess, pressured to do more with less while competing with a federal government that can’t seem to get out of its own way.
The Real Price of Failure: Our Children’s Future
The long-term consequences are staggering. Today’s unhealthy kids become tomorrow’s chronically ill adults, burdening healthcare systems, shrinking the workforce, and driving up costs for everyone. Rising rates of disability and premature death mean that for the first time in modern history, American children may not outlive their parents. Social cohesion and trust erode as disparities widen and life expectancy drops. The only thing growing faster than childhood obesity is the mountain of public debt left for the next generation to pay off.
Meanwhile, the food industry faces more scrutiny, insurance companies tighten their purse strings, and politicians bicker over whose failed idea should get funded next. The cycle of blame and spending continues, but families are left to pick up the pieces. The experts agree: urgent, systemic action is needed. But until someone has the courage to challenge the sacred cows of big government, big bureaucracy, and the culture of victimhood, expect nothing but more of the same—at your children’s expense.
