10/05/2026
Powerful perspective on how investing in childhood health - including - is critical to overall national well-being:
"A study last year in JAMA found that children’s health deteriorated alarmingly between 2007 and 2023. It noted American children were 1.8 times more likely to die in the U.S. than in other industrialized countries. Four in 10 American kids will become adults hampered by obesity, chronic illness, , , or other conditions that can limit their opportunities and shorten their lives. These health challenges impact how well they do at school, which in turn affects how or even if they participate in the workforce and their long-term productivity. There’s no path for the U.S. to remain a strong country if its children struggle to thrive.
[...]
Many of the challenges dominating today’s debates — from military readiness and economic competitiveness to rising health care costs and declining life expectancy — have roots in childhood. Healthier children become healthier adults. They are more likely to succeed in school, participate in the , serve their communities, and contribute to economic growth."
https://champ.ly/SQSLPA7y
“National security begins in childhood,” write Tina L. Cheng, Stanley McChrystal, and James M. Perrin.
