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U.S. researchers are seeing something out of the ordinary: grade-schoolers who are less healthy than their parents.

That's why it's so important, said Ed Clark, chairman of University of Utah Health Care's pediatrics department, that researchers across the country examine how genetics and the environment impact a child's health.

"The health status of children is deteriorating," Clark said. "We've not seen anything like this in the history of our country."

The National Institutes of Health has tapped the U. as one of 35 research programs across the country enrolling more than 50,000 children in a study known as Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes. The U., which received $3.1 million as a participating program, likely will enroll between 1,000 and 2,000 individuals, Clark said. Clark is a principal investigator on the study.

The NIH has funded the U. for two years, but it could be extended an additional five years if all goes well.

The national, seven-year initiative will examine how environmental factors, such as air quality, nutrition and stress, influence a child's health. Researchers will track kids from conception to early childhood.

"Every baby should have the best opportunity to remain healthy and thrive throughout childhood," Francis Collins, NIH director, said in a news release. The study "will help us better understand the factors that contribute to optimal health in children."

The data gathered from the study will help determine what factors contribute to disease, identify early detection markers and possibly lead to treatment and prevention methods, according to a news release.

Clark said this study is somewhat of a continuation of the National Children's Study, which the NIH began shutting down in 2012.

The U. was involved in that study and was able to continue its portion, dubbed the Utah Children's Project, with the help of local donors, the U.'s Department of Pediatrics and participating families. There are more than 1,000 individuals still participating in that project, Clark said, and their data will be used in this new study.

"We have never wavered from our commitment to the health of the children in our community," Clark said.

"This award is a recognition of the great science that goes on here and the commitment of the people in Utah to improve the health of our children and our nation."

astuckey@sltrib.com Twitter@alexdstuckey