Dr. Terence S. Dermody: Investing in our children’s health is investing in America’s future

The health of America’s children is in crisis. Nearly 75% of young adults in the United States do not meet the basic health requirements for military service, which is a sobering statistic that reflects the consequences of preventable health problems beginning early in life. Obesity, diabetes, behavioral health disorders and other chronic conditions are now common in young children. These aren’t just individual tragedies, they’re national alarms.

In February, the president signed an executive order establishing the Make America Healthy Again Commission, aimed at reducing the burden of chronic disease in the U.S. This is an important step that appropriately focuses on childhood, where these chronic conditions often start.

We cannot expect healthier adults without healthier children. To achieve the goal of healthier children, we need sustained investment in child health research — the very work that tells us how to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases early, before they become lifelong burdens. Such research doesn’t just take place in the lab. It spans basic science, clinical trials, behavioral studies and health systems research, all geared toward ensuring children have the healthiest possible start in life.

Consider what child health research has already made possible: the prevention of sudden infant death syndrome through sleep safety education, the development of surfactant therapy to save premature infants and miracle drugs that reverse the consequences of cystic fibrosis. Ongoing research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where I work, helps us understand how to support behavioral health in teens, prevent type 2 diabetes in at-risk youth and develop new treatments for brain tumors, among many other vital research projects.

When we invest in child health, the benefits are extraordinary. Healthier children attend school more consistently and perform better academically. They are more likely to become healthy, thriving and productive adults. Their families also benefit. Parents and caregivers can work, save money and participate more fully in the economy when the health of their children is stable. These outcomes ripple across generations, strengthening individual families and communities and ensuring the defense and prosperity of our nation.

Early-life research is also key to preventing chronic illness later. We now know that exposures and experiences in childhood — from poor nutrition to toxic stress — can have lifelong consequences. Research helps us identify the most effective interventions and the most critical time windows for taking action. If we want to break the cycle of chronic disease and reduce long-term health care costs, there is no better place to start than the early years of life.

But to advance this work, we must embrace new approaches, reimagining a well-supported National Institutes of Health and a stronger National Institute of Child Health and Human Development beyond the status quo. NICHD has supported decades of breakthroughs in child and maternal health and has trained scores of talented child health researchers.

Without uninterrupted and continuing support for the physicians and scientists who work to improve child health, we risk losing hard-won progress and forfeiting future discoveries. A stable and adequately funded federal commitment to child health research is the only way to ensure today’s children, and tomorrow’s, have access to better health and brighter futures.

In medicine, we talk about the importance of intervening early to prevent downstream harm. The same principle applies to public policy. If we want a healthier, more resilient, more economically vibrant America, we must invest where it matters most: in our children. The returns could not be greater.

Terence S. Dermody, M.D., is a professor and chair of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. A physician-scientist with decades of experience in clinical care, training physicians and scientists, and research, his laboratory work is focused on viral diseases and is funded by the National Institutes of Health.