Life can take its toll on everyone, even children. Fortunately for the United States we have a great health care system compared to many countries all over the world. We are lucky enough to have well educated doctors, from all over the world, and have access to thousands of great medicines. Childrens immune systems are not as strong as adults and so they are more suseptable to getting sick and some are even born sick or carrying a disease.
It is sometimes hard to keep our little ones completely healthy simply because we cannot protect them from everything. In a study in 2003 84.7 % of children were reported to be in very good or excellent health, according to their parents. Despite this large number of healthy children, the health rate begins to decrease as children get older. The research showed that 86% of children under 5 were either in very good or excellent health, 84% in children ages 6-11, and 83% in children reaching adolescence at 12-17 years old. (http://mchb.hrsa.gov/mchirc/chusa_05/healthstat/children/0308hsc.htm)
The study also shows that people with higher incomes have healthier children. The more likely answer for this is that those with higher incomes can afford better qualiry health insurace or can pay for certain medicines their doctors may not provide because their health insurance does not provide these medicines. The following quote gives further details of this--"Children with family incomes below 100 percent of the Federal poverty level (FPL) were least likely to be reported by parents to be in excellent or very good health (66.8 percent), followed by those with family incomes of 100 to 199 percent of FPL (80.9 percent), and those with family incomes of 200 to 399 percent of FPL (90.2 percent); children with family incomes of 400 percent of FPL or above were the most likely to be in excellent or very good health (93.8 percent)." Unfortunately those with lower income are not as fortunate to be able to buy these medicines and so their doctors are limited as to how they can treat the patients health.
It is sometimes hard to keep our little ones completely healthy simply because we cannot protect them from everything. In a study in 2003 84.7 % of children were reported to be in very good or excellent health, according to their parents. Despite this large number of healthy children, the health rate begins to decrease as children get older. The research showed that 86% of children under 5 were either in very good or excellent health, 84% in children ages 6-11, and 83% in children reaching adolescence at 12-17 years old. (http://mchb.hrsa.gov/mchirc/chusa_05/healthstat/children/0308hsc.htm)
The study also shows that people with higher incomes have healthier children. The more likely answer for this is that those with higher incomes can afford better qualiry health insurace or can pay for certain medicines their doctors may not provide because their health insurance does not provide these medicines. The following quote gives further details of this--"Children with family incomes below 100 percent of the Federal poverty level (FPL) were least likely to be reported by parents to be in excellent or very good health (66.8 percent), followed by those with family incomes of 100 to 199 percent of FPL (80.9 percent), and those with family incomes of 200 to 399 percent of FPL (90.2 percent); children with family incomes of 400 percent of FPL or above were the most likely to be in excellent or very good health (93.8 percent)." Unfortunately those with lower income are not as fortunate to be able to buy these medicines and so their doctors are limited as to how they can treat the patients health.
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