Hygiene is healthful, but we may want to look at what we left behind. That is scary comment because it seems to overlook the peace and serenity of the countryside. The natural order of things. Inner city turmoil seems to be accepted as a given. I suspect the East German children had fewer options and were restricted to basics.
Simplicity is often more healthy than excess.
I believe stress and nutrition are the primary culprits. That and the barrage of chemicals and food additives they sneak into us. Now they are trying genetic engineering and that is more about shelf life and making foods pretty at the marketplace at the cost of natural enzymes. Enzymes actually make food rot normally, and digest in your body as well. Practically NO NE talks about enzymes.