The real reason(s) food allergies are on the rise

food allergies are on the march. Among children, they doubled from 2000 to 2018, according to our analysis of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health Interview Survey, and they probably have risen further in the years since. We don’t have comparable data for adults, though other research tends to reinforce the trend.

On the hunt for deeper data, we found a series of analyses published by Northwestern University’s Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research. Based on a survey of almost 80,000 people in more than 50,000 U.S. households in 2015 and 2016, this data goes into far more detail than the feds could — and raises even more questions about the weird world of food allergies.

But that’s not the only explanation for today’s allergy epidemic. Another is that we’re over-protecting our kids. That practice was tragically exacerbated by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which, alarmed by rising food allergies, advised parents in 2000 to avoid exposing kids to peanuts or peanut products until age 3. That’s way too late to avoid most food allergies through exposure.

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