Confronting the New Childhood Epidemics

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure and honour of attending a first-of-its-kind conference in the United States.  This gathering of medical professionals, researchers, health coaches, and parents was organised by Epidemic Answers, a 501C3 registered charity, which for more than ten (10) years has been working to unravel the mysteries behind the world’s new childhood epidemics.  

In an era marked by tremendous advancements in medicine and technology, one would hope that childhood health would be on an upward trajectory.  And, in some sense, it is.  We should be very pleased that our modern medical system has eliminated so many of the communicable diseases that have plagued us in the past.  Measles, mumps, polio, smallpox . . . the incidence of all of these diseases has been drastically reduced with targeted vaccine programmes and with improved access to quality medical care globally.  But, sadly, these communicable diseases have been replaced with other illnesses.  Even a cursory look at today’s statistics reveals a very concerning trend—more and more of our children today are suffering chronic illnesses that are impacting their health, their longevity, and their very development.  

At the conference, Beth Lambert, the founder and Executive Director of Epidemic Answers, delivered a disturbing review of the health of America’s children.  As one of her slides boldly pronounced - the children are not ok.  At least in the USA, she told us, over 50% of the children have a neurodevelopmental, inflammatory, or related chronic illness.  Think ADHD, autism, allergies, depression, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, just for examples.  Of course, it hasn’t always been this way.  That 50% figure has increased by some 200-300% from the early 1990s. But it’s not just neurodevelopment or cognitive issues we must address. Forty-two percent of teens are overweight or obese.  And, in a recent survey of higher-learning centres, almost three-quarters or 75% of college students were experiencing moderate to serious psychological distress.  

Numbers like these are mind-boggling.  

Of course, many of these numbers and especially the figures on psychological stress have been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic.  That said, Lambert insists that these numbers are not wildly changed over the past 10-15 years.  In 2010, Lambert published a book, A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in America's Children, in which she documented the already shocking state of our children’s health.  Clearly, our children have been ill for a while.

But perhaps these numbers are US specific.  Perhaps we here in the MENA region don’t need to worry about these ‘epidemics.’  Perhaps that is true.  But the World Health Organization puts the global frequency of autism at about 1 in 100.  According to Scientific American, the trend has been increasing steadily since the 1950s, not only in the U.S. but globally.  Obesity, depression, allergies, ADHD, and diabetes type I:   all of these illnesses also seem to be increasing globally.  So, I do not believe that just because we live in the UAE we have escaped the epidemic.  Indeed, Lana and I went to visit a local nursery just last week.  The director told us that fully 60% of the children she enrolls each year have at last one medical diagnosis.  

Truly, our kids are not ok.  

But the question is why?  This was a question much discussed at the Epidemic Answers conference.  It is a key areas of focus both in Epidemic Answers’ research and in Lambert's book.  Fascinatingly, there are a variety of answers already emerging. 

For example, there is now considerable evidence that much of the chronic illness experienced by our children today can be linked to our environment.  Indeed, modern lifestyles expose children to a myriad of environmental toxins, ranging from pollutants in the air to chemicals in the everyday products that we slather on our children’s skin. These exposures can have profound effects on a child's developing immune system and overall well-being.  In a recent article published in the BMJ journal, Archives of Disease in Childhood, the authors describe the severity of the situation and the significant exposure that all children face globally.  The authors write, for example:

In Europe, children are at risk of exposure to more that 15 000 synthetic chemicals, nearly all developed over the past 50 years,2 and worldwide between 50 000 and 100 000 chemicals are being produced commercially, the most toxic of which are used in less developed countries.1" 

These chemicals are in our water, our air, our personal products, clothes, furnishings, and even our food.  They are everywhere. 

But it’s not just chemicals and toxins we need to think about.  Another critical aspect highlighted by both Epidemic Answers and Lambert is the role of nutrition in the epidemic of chronic illnesses among children. The standard American diet (SAD), which is quickly becoming the standard global diet, is without question high in processed foods and lacking essential nutrients.  This SAD has been linked to various health issues not simply because of the toxins and strains the diet might impose on the body but also because of its consequence for the body’s own healing capabilities. Lambert and her organisation emphasise the importance of nutrition in supporting the body's natural ability to heal, while Lambert's book explores the profound impact that dietary choices can have on a child's susceptibility to chronic illnesses.  

But what is to be done?   

Both Epidemic Answers and A Compromised Generation underscore the necessity of adopting holistic approaches to address childhood epidemics. Traditional medical models often focus on treating symptoms rather than addressing the underlying causes of health issues. By promoting integrative and functional medical and even lifestyle practices, Epidemic Answers seeks to empower parents and healthcare practitioners with tools to create individualised and comprehensive care plans for our children.  

Clearly, Epidemic Answers has inspired Azoki’s own practices and beliefs.  In the face of this rising tide of childhood epidemics, organisations like Epidemic Answers and advocates like Beth Lambert are, at least for me, beacons of hope. They are doing the research and mobilising the routines and lifestyle strategies that just might heal the world.  

Clearly, I left the conference with mixed emotion.  It is overwhelming at times to consider the dangers we have created for our children.  And, perhaps because my eyes have been opened, I see the effect of the toxicity we have created everywhere:  in all those beautiful children in the nurseries all across the UAE, in my own children, even in me.  

But there is hope in clean living.  If we work at it hard enough, we can find a way forward.  Azoki and I believe this deeply

Yours in Health and Happiness,

Sarah