Jackson Free Press

The National Children's Study, a long-term study of children's health, hosted a ribbon cutting Nov. 10 at the Jackson Medical Mall to highlight research that is taking place in the Jackson area.

The study will follow more than 100,000 children around the country from before birth until age 21 and look at how environments affect development and health, according to the study's website (nationalchildrensstudy.gov). Factors include neighborhoods, schools, food, water and other things that can influence a child's health.

Research centers around the country are participating in the study. The National Institutes of Health, one of the lead agencies, announced the first locations in 2005. In 2010, NIH announced that it would add a location in Hinds County, with the University of Mississippi Medical Center as the county's study center.

Hinds County is one of 105 locations around the nation selected for the study. In addition to UMMC, local partners include the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children and the Mississippi Department of Health. The study might add a location in Coahoma County in the future.

Sharon Wyatt, principal investigator for the Hinds County study location, said the county, like most of Mississippi, faces children's health issues on a level that is not found in every area of the country. For example, Mississippi has the highest teen-pregnancy rate in the country.

"This study is intended to have a nationally representative sample that can, from across the country, inform (research into) what keeps kids healthy and what contributes to making them ill," she said.

Wyatt said because Hinds County has such unique statistics and many children's health issues, it's important that the area's children have a voice, rather than data coming only from a few states very different from Mississippi.

Researchers plan the National Children's Study to be the largest of its kind ever conducted, and hope the results will help doctors and other medical professionals better understand how to prevent and treat health problems such as autism, birth defects, heart disease and obesity, NIH said in a statement.

Dr. Richard Carmona was the U.S. surgeon general when the study began.

"We're looking to find the root causes of many common diseases and disorders," he said in a statement. "When we do, we'll be in a position to prevent them from ever occurring."

The Centers for Disease Control reports that in 2008, more than one-third of children and adolescents in the nation were either overweight or obese, putting them at an increased risk for health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and certain types of cancer, either during childhood or as adults.

The CDC also noted that families, schools, faith-based institutions, the media, and the food and beverage industries influence lifestyle habits.