Most U.S. adults say today's children have worse health prospects

Ask adults of all ages if today's children are healthier than children of their own generation.

Too often, the answer is "no."

Less than one-third of adults believe that kids are physically healthier today compared to kids in their own childhoods, according to a new study in the journal Academic Pediatrics. And fewer than 25 percent think the mental health status of children is better now.

"Our findings clash with the American dream of expecting that the quality of life will continue getting better for future generations," says lead author Gary Freed, M.D., M.P.H., IHPI member and pediatrician at U-M's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and a member of U-M's Child Health Evaluation and Research Center.

"We have made remarkable gains in preventing communicable diseases, advancing technology and developing cures that have significantly reduced children's illness and death over the last century," Freed says.

"However, we are clearly falling short in addressing challenges affecting children's health today, including mental health, bullying, safety and obesity."

The study, led by Mott and the Children's Hospital Association, used 2016 data from a C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health. The survey encompassed a nationally representative household sample of 1,330 respondents.