Today’s Big Story

Are Boys Falling Behind?

Boys’ educational achievement, mental health and transitions to adulthood indicate that many are not thriving

This is unfortunate news: Boys and young men are struggling, to put it simply. Across their lives—in their educational achievement, mental health and transitions to adulthood—there are clear warning signs that they are falling behind, even as their female peers surge ahead.

The New York Times’ Upshot column points out that researchers found several economic and social changes have combined to change boys’ and men’s trajectories. School has changed in ways that favor girls, and work has changed in ways that favor women. Boys are often seen as troublemakers, and men have heard that masculinity is “toxic.”

Pew Research found that young people themselves tend to agree that girls are now at least equal to — and often doing better than — boys. Many young men say they feel unmoored and undervalued, and parents and adults who work with children are worried about boys. And it’s not just a feeling: There’s a wealth of data that shows that boys and young men are stagnating, which is what the Upshot dug into.

For instance, some boys have been affected more than others—the outcomes for Black young men are worse, and the Brookings Institution proved that growing up in poverty disproportionately hurts boys. In some cases, the patterns aren’t new—boys have always lagged girls in certain areas, yet there has been little focus on their issues, perhaps because men have dominated in so many spheres.

Now, women outnumber men in college enrollment, correlating with improved career opportunities and higher earnings. Mental health is declining among young people, affecting boys and girls differently. Boys are roughly twice as likely as girls to be diagnosed with A.D.H.D. or autism, though experts caution that those may be under-diagnosed in girls, for whom symptoms can show up differently. As adults, the job markets have also shifted, with men losing ground in disappearing manual labour roles while women dominate the growing service sector.

How Chronic Disease Became the Biggest Scourge in American Health

Obesity, inactivity and a fractured healthcare system contribute to chronic diseases

Chronic diseases are the leading cause of illness, death and disability in the United States, affecting more than half of the population. So it makes sense that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made combating chronic disease a rallying cry as he looks to overhaul the health department and “Make America Healthy Again.”

As the Wall Street Journal points out, it isn’t that we used to be healthier, data shows, but the biggest threats have changed. The deadliest scourges in the U.S. were once infectious, with influenza and tuberculosis topping the list at the start of the 20th century. Better sanitation and advances in antibiotics and vaccines muzzled them, transforming Americans’ well-being. Medical innovations and antismoking campaigns then spurred decades of progress against heart disease and cancer. But chronic diseases, persistent or long-lasting health conditions, are undermining that momentum, contributing to our stalled life expectancy over the past decade that trails behind that of other wealthy nations.

Drug overdoses from opioids, alcohol, suicide and chronic diseases drive most of those early deaths, researchers said. The U.S. obesity rate is nearly double the average of peer nations, disrupting prior decades of progress against heart disease. Around a third of U.S. adults have had multiple chronic conditions, the highest rate among our peers, according to the Commonwealth Fund. Medical experts say many preventable chronic diseases are related to four major risk factors that are still extremely common in America: cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol use, physical inactivity and poor nutrition.

What Are the Most Popular Dogs in America?

According to data from the American Kennel Club

What are the top dogs in the U.S.? While all breeds and mutts are great, the annual answer to that question comes from a trusted source. As the world’s largest registry of purebred dogs, the American Kennel Club uses their registration statistics to rank the most popular breeds of the past year—and the numbers are now in.

For the third year in a row, the French Bulldog has secured the No. 1 spot as the most popular dog breed in the United States. In 2022, the Frenchie took the Most Popular title from the Labrador Retriever, a breed who had previously sat comfortably at No. 1 for more than three decades. According to the AKC, the adorable bulldogs are especially popular in cities, but their playful nature and compact size are great for a variety of lifestyles.

2024 saw major shifts for a lot of breeds across the rankings. While some breeds surged over 20 rankings higher, others shifted 10 or more rankings lower. For instance, my beloved Beagle has moved from No. 8 to No. 7, moving Bulldogs from No. 7 to No. 9 and Rottweilers from No. 9 to No. 8. German Shorthaired Pointers remain at No. 10 from 2023 to 2024.

A Weekend Pairing

‘Paddington in Peru’ + a Pisco Sour Cocktail

A Weekend Pairing

‘Paddington in Peru’ + a Pisco Sour Cocktail

Did you miss Paddington in Peru when it was in theaters? The beloved bear’s South American adventure has come to streaming and was just released on Netflix. Even if people see this as the weakest of the trilogy, the Paddington films are still leagues better than most children’s movies out now.

The film finds Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) on a safari through the Amazon jungle of his youth to rescue his aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton), who has mysteriously gone missing from her retirement home. If the first Paddington hinges on blundering and Paddington 2 on relentless civility, the third stages a more personal journey of self discovery. If you want something wholesome to watch, fire it up.

Father-Son Duo Aims to Reinvent Home Construction

Keep at it.