Achieving Multi-Generational Health requires strategic partnership, community engagement, and collaborative stakeholder investment. Learn More about how we’re addressing Multi-Generational Health and Health Equity.

Multi-Generational Health defined

Multi-generational health is the continuous cycle of positive health outcomes. Multi-generational health addresses how our health behaviors and outcomes directly influence the health behaviors and outcomes of the next generation.

Health Trends & Relationships

  • According to the CDC, 6 in 10 Adults in the US have a chronic disease. 4 in 10 Adults in the US have two or more.

  • Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. Heart disease is also the #1 killer among many racial and ethnic groups, as well as new mothers.

  • Heart disease and stroke cost our health care system $216 billion per year and cause $147 billion in lost productivity on the job.

  • 38.4 million people have diabetes (11.6% of the US population), while 97.6 million people aged 18 years or older have prediabetes (38.0% of the adult US population).

  • Women who are diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are 2x more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life and are at higher risk of poor maternal/child health outcomes.

  • More than half of women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) develop type 2 diabetes by age 40. PCOS is one of the most common endocrine conditions in women of childbearing age, impacting 5-6 million women in the United States.

  • Diabetes is the most expensive chronic condition in the US. $1 out of every $4 in US health care costs is spent on caring for people with diabetes.

  • Each year, $237 billion is spent on direct medical costs and an additional $90 billion on reduced productivity related to diabetes.

  • Obesity affects 20% of children and 42% of adults, putting them at risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.

  • Over 25% of young people 17 to 24 are too heavy to join the US military.

Health Factors.

A closer look at what influences multi-generational health behaviors and outcomes.

  • Individual factors include age, gender, and genetics. Based on what we now understand about cardio-metabolic programming in-utero, we can deploy a preventive health strategy to buffer genetic predisposition to chronic conditions.

  • Individual behaviors include exercise, diet, addiction, coping, and preventive health screenings. Lifestyle modification is the number one preventive treatment for chronic disease, but it is important to note that health-promoting behavior is influenced by many neurobiological, psychological, and social underpinnings, including knowledge, beliefs, skills, attitudes, access, policy, and other social determinants of health.

  • Public services and infrastructure include parks, education, community centers, transportation, economic development, and health care.

  • Living and working conditions include access to food, housing, social networks, segregation, working environment, wages and benefits, air, water, and soil quality, and noise.

  • Social and political factors include racism, sexism, political participation, power, inequality, and poverty.

  • This category encompasses economic and social conditions that influence health outcomes of people and communities.

    According to the CDC, several factors include:

    • How a person develops during the first few years of life (early childhood development)

    • How much education a person obtains and the quality of that education

    • Being able to get and keep a job

    • What kind of work a person does

    • Having food or being able to get food (food security)

    • Having access to health services and the quality of those services

    • Living conditions such as housing status, public safety, clean water and pollution

    • How much money a person earns (individual income and household income)

    • Social norms and attitudes (discrimination, racism and distrust of government)

    • Residential segregation (physical separation of races/ethnicities into different neighborhoods)

    • Social support

    • Language and literacy

    • Incarceration

    • Culture (general customs and beliefs of a particular group of people)

    • Access to mass media and emerging technologies (cell phones, internet, and social media)

    “Health disparities are differences in health that are closely linked to social determinants of health. Addressing health disparities is key to achieving health equity and realizing the Healthy People vision of improving the health and well-being of all.” - Healthy People 2030

  • Economic Stability

    Employment, Income, Expenses, Debt, Medical Bills, Support

  • Neighborhood & Physical Environment

    Housing, Transportation, Safety, Parks, Playgrounds, Walkability, Zip code/ geography

  • Education

    Literacy, Language, Early Childhood Education, Vocational Training, Higher education

  • Food

    Hunger, Access to Healthy Options

  • Community & Social Context

    Social Integration, Support Systems, Community Engagement, Discrimination, Stress

  • Health Care System

    Health Coverage, Provider Availability, Provider linguistic and cultural competency, Quality of care

Healthy People 2030

To achieve Health Equity, we must address social determinants of health and health disparities.

“Health equity is the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. Achieving this requires focused and ongoing societal efforts to address historical and contemporary injustices; overcome economic, social, and other obstacles to health and healthcare; and eliminate preventable health disparities.” - CDC

“The latest data released by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) show significant increases in U.S. maternal mortality rates in 2021 and send a resounding message that maternal health and evidence-based efforts to eliminate racial health inequities need to be, and remain, a top public health priority.”

— The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)

Addressing Top Public Health Priorities

  • Chronic/Preventable Disease

    We directly address heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, three chronic conditions mediated by lifestyle modification. Racial and ethnic minority populations have a higher burden of these conditions and associated complications.

    According to the CDC:

    Obesity affects 20% of children and 42% of adults, putting them at risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.

    38.4 million people have diabetes (11.6% of the US population), while 97.6 million people aged 18 years or older have prediabetes (38.0% of the adult US population).

    Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

    Some of these conditions may be linked to or impacted by other conditions including Polycystic ovary syndrome, high blood pressure, and depression.

    Preventable Disease Modifiable Risk Factors:

    • Poor nutrition

    • Physical inactivity

    • Excessive alcohol use

    • Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke

  • Maternal Morbidity and Mortality

    Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of new moms. In fact, while heart disease and stroke are the two leading causes of maternal mortality, a weakened heart muscle is the most common cause of death one week to one year after delivery.

    In the United States, other main causes of pregnancy-related deaths include hemorrhage, infections and sepsis, cardiovascular events (embolisms, preeclampsia, eclampsia, blood pressure disorders of pregnancy), and diabetes.

    According to the CDC, “Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women. Multiple factors contribute to these disparities, such as variation in quality healthcare, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias. Social determinants of health prevent many people from racial and ethnic minority groups from having fair opportunities for economic, physical, and emotional health.”

    Maternal health during the perinatal period has short and long-term impacts on both maternal and child health, including preventing and managing chronic conditions.

    Maternal Mortality Risk Factors:

    • Diabetes

    • High Blood Pressure

    • Pre-pregnancy Weight (Obesity)

    • Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders

    • Poor preconception and prenatal care (PNC)

    • Intimate Partner Violence

Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)

“The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) theory hypothesized that environmental exposures during early life (particularly the in-utero period) can permanently influence health and vulnerability to disease in later life. Obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers are just some examples of adult-onset conditions that may be linked to early life nutritional status and/or exposures to environmental chemicals, drugs, infections, lifestyles, or stress.”

— Yale School of Public Health

The Multi-Generational Health Equity Collaborative includes:

  • People (“Patients/Members”)

  • Medical & Ancillary Healthcare Providers

  • Health Plans & Organizations

  • Community Organizations (CBOs)

  • Local, Regional, and National For-Profit Businesses

  • Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

  • Research Institutions, Universities, Grant-Makers

  • Developers and City Planners

  • Government Entities & Regulators

  • Philanthropists and Donors

Achieving Multi-Generational Health & Health Equity is a Collaborative Effort.

Mom’s Good Taste® is a nonprofit corporation organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes to advance multi-generational health. Through multi-generational health advocacy, stakeholder and community engagement, and preventive care innovation, Mom’s Good Taste® advances multi-generational health awareness, access, and equity across the United States. By sharing free resources, convening stakeholders, and influencing integrated care models, Mom’s Good Taste® will change the trajectory of maternal health and chronic disease for generations to come.