SC schools, parents urged to commit to healthier, plant-based diets for children

Blog > Op-Eds > SC schools, parents urged to commit to healthier, plant-based diets for children

October 6, 2021 | Originally published in The State

By: Bethany Carlos, MD


As a pediatrician in Charleston, South Carolina, I know that the last year has been hard on our kids’ health. During the pandemic, most of my patients gained too much weight, increasing their overall risk for poor health outcomes such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and depression. At the same time, climate change is impacting our kids’ physical and mental health. Already, kids are suffering and dying from heat stroke, asthma and other problems made worse by the changing climate. And, according to the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, those impacts could become more frequent and deadly over the course of our kids’ lifetimes

At the same time, climate change is impacting our kids’ physical and mental health. Already, kids are suffering and dying from heat stroke, asthma and other problems made worse by the changing climate. And, according to the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, those impacts could become more frequent and deadly over the course of our kids’ lifetimes…READ THE FULL ARTICLE>


Bethany Carlos, MD MPH is a community pediatrician from South Carolina and focuses on public health and climate change. She enjoys helping her patients and their families find ultimate health through physical, emotional, and environmental health. She is a 2021 Climate & Health Equity Fellow.