Get yourself to grade school.

[Vertigo]

Just to add (another tangent, sorry) - another addiction in the early 20’s population that seems to be growing is online gambling.

 

[CoachCeetar]

Without googling and just going by what I see at work everyday, obesity, type 2 diabetes, ADHD, anxiety and depression, substance abuse (marijuana is a big one now due to legalization in some states), and vaping (nicotine and other substances) are the co-morbidities I see frequently in teens and early 20’s surgical patients. A good number of the 18-25 year olds are coming in for some type of bariatric procedure.

sure, obesity is a problem for everyone, including the people that were kids decades ago. But we also know obesity isn't as big an indicator of 'health' as it was made out to be.

The other stuff, how much of that was simply undiagnosed? ESPECIALLY in girls?

I'm not denying there are problems, but in general, compared to the "kids these days!" teeth gnashing, I think kids are better off today, better prepared, and in general healthier and have a better idea of what health actually is. There's some stuff that's probably pushed back a few years, maybe we don't let 8 year olds wander the neighborhood as much until they're say 11, but I don't think a little more caution is necessarily a bad thing.

Mostly, it's just different. change is just different. society is different in 2024 than 1994. But that's 30 years of learning, of science, of studies. We stopped dumping lead in everything, realized we were poisoning kids with asbestos, etc.

 

[CoachCeetar]

Just to add (another tangent, sorry) - another addiction in the early 20’s population that seems to be growing is online gambling.

oof. yeah, this one's rough. Feels a lot like cigarettes' before any regulations. All sorts of studies coming out on how much damage it might be causing. On one hand, it probably won't kill you and give you cancer, but there's no limit to how much debt you can go into..

 

[Vertigo]

sure, obesity is a problem for everyone, including the people that were kids decades ago. But we also know obesity isn't as big an indicator of 'health' as it was made out to be.

You do realize that obesity increases the risk of numerous other health conditions, right?

 

[JayW]

My 17 year old DD is a great kid. No complaints.

 

[CoachCeetar]

You do realize that obesity increases the risk of numerous other health conditions, right?

yes.

 

[Rolling Hard]

I saw this author interviewed and she had a bunch of facts about how obesity has increased over the past 70 years. Something like only 25% of young men in the US could meet the physical requirement to join the military. That's pretty scary.
https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Dangers-Nourishing-Generations-Fertility/dp/B0C2SPYYRJ

 

[Northball]

you don't think kids are healthier? we were legit feeding them/us lead in the 80s and the concept of social emotional learning was to tease the kids that had emotions.

We're probably using different viewpoints of what healthy is. I agree some things have been cleaned up such as lead, air pollution levels, and other harmful chemicals from our environments (not just nature, but everyday environments). Food safety, sanitation, and medical treatment is the best it's ever been. Knowledge of nutrition, exercise, and self-care is always evolving so there is no reason we shouldn't have healthier kids.
But we are imperfect, irrational, and even lazy humans. Anecdotally, I see more obese kids in a grade than when I was that age, and at higher levels of obesity. Conditions such as diabetes, asthma, and food allergies have either increased or they're just more visible or talked about. Drugs definitely existed 40 years ago, but not to the extent as today. Psychologically, the social media culture has been devastating.
I would say that the toxins from years ago have been more than replaced by the unhealthy to downright dangerous things we voluntarily put into our bodies.
OVERALL, I would say kids are worse off health wise than 40 years ago. And they can't handle the heat as well.

 

[Strike2]

Mostly, it's just different. change is just different. society is different in 2024 than 1994. But that's 30 years of learning, of science, of studies. We stopped dumping lead in everything, realized we were poisoning kids with asbestos, etc.

Where were you living...in the 90s...where kids were being fed lead and asbestos? I grew up in the 70s, and that was never on the dinner menu.

 

[Strike2]

But we also know obesity isn't as big an indicator of 'health' as it was made out to be.

Really...how do we know this? Persistent obesity in kids/teens/young adults all but guarantees health problems approaching middle-age, if not sooner.