National Security Begins in Childhood

Research By: Tina Cheng, MD, MPH

Post Date: September 29, 2026 | Publish Date:

Editorial co-authored by Tina Cheng, James Perrin and Stanley McChrystal Warns of Long-Term Consequences From Declining Child Health

“A healthy, capable workforce is the foundation on which we build America’s prosperity. Yet we see falling birth rates and with them, the related slowing of our labor-force growth, even as employers need greater numbers of healthy, adaptable, and well-educated employees. When children face preventable health problems, food insecurity, untreated mental health conditions, or barriers to learning, it does not bode well for the future. Those challenges become tomorrow’s workforce shortages, rising health care costs, and lost economic potential. What happens in childhood shapes the health, productivity, and resilience of the nation for decades to come.”

This message to thought leaders across the United States is co-authored by Tina Cheng, MD, MPH, the B.K. Rachford professor and chair of pediatrics, University of Cincinnati, and director of the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation; James Perrin, MD, professor of pediatrics emeritus, Harvard Medical School and the John C. Robinson distinguished chair in pediatrics, Mass General Brigham for Children; and Stanley McChrystal, a former commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan and founder of the McChrystal Group.

Read the full editorial in STAT

Research By

Tina Cheng, MD, MPH

Director, Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation

As a child advocate, I have promoted the importance of pediatric research including initiation of the “7 Great Achievements in Pediatric Research” campaign (Pediatr Res. 2016;80(3):330-7) and have published on the “Next 7 Great Achievements in Pediatric Research” (Pediatrics. 2017;139(5):e20163803).

tina.cheng@cchmc.org