Originally published July 30 2005
The health of American children is improving
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The federal government's annual report card on health paints a rosy picture about the health of children, but there are some exceptions.
The federal government's annual report card on the well-being of America's children presents a generally healthy picture, with some notable exceptions.
On the flip side, children are more likely to be living in poverty, infants are more likely to be born underweight, children are more likely to commit or be a victim of a violent crime, and reading scores of older children have gone down.
The report, the ninth annual America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2005, was compiled by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.
The review reveals differences based on income and race and ethnicity.
"The picture certainly has improved, but the disparities persist," said Edward Sondik, director of the National Center for Health Statistics at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Children living in poverty were less likely to have been vaccinated (76 percent) than other kids (83 percent).
This year's report also included a special feature on asthma that found that about 13 percent of children will be diagnosed with the respiratory disease at some point in their lives.
"It's in keeping with smaller community-bases samples."
Although there were no striking racial differences, children living below the poverty line were twice as likely to have a difficulty in this area, as were children from single-parent homes.
Those indicators were: percentage of births that are underweight; infant mortality rates; percentage of 15-to-17-year-olds enrolled in school; percentage of this age group reported to be in excellent or very good health; and the percentage of adolescent girls who have children out of wedlock by ages 17 to 19.
"We have been fortunate to experience a long-term drop in violence affecting all ages and all races and ethnic groups and particularly affecting those under the age of 18," said Larry Greenfeld, director of the bureau of justice statistics at the Department of Justice.
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