We are at an incredible turning point in understanding how the environment impacts children's health and development. A groundbreaking endeavor launched on January 13, 2009, The National Children's Study will follow 100,000 American children from preconception until the age of 21 to deepen our understanding of illnesses and diseases such as allergies, asthma, ADHD, childhood cancer, autism, diabetes and obesity.

The study is funded annually by Congress and will be carried out in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as a host of universities, hospitals, research centers and NGOs.

105 Study Centers have been set up across the country, guaranteeing that the children studied will reflect diverse backgrounds and situations, and thus highlight the differences that exist between groups of people in terms of health care access and disease occurrence. Overall, the National Children's Study will be one of the richest research efforts on children's health and long-term development.