[2] Louv created the term "nature-deficit disorder" to describe possible negative consequences to individual health and the social fabric as children move indoors and away from physical contact with the natural world – particularly unstructured, solitary experience.

[3] Louv cites research pointing to attention disorders, obesity, a dampening of creativity and depression as problems associated with a nature-deficient childhood.

He amassed information on the subject from practitioners of many disciplines to make his case and is commonly credited with helping to inspire an international movement to reintroduce children to nature.

[4] He has been a columnist and member of the editorial advisory board for Parents magazine and a Ford Foundation Leadership for a Changing World [5] award program adviser.

[10] The U.S. Department of the Interior, and associations such as the Sierra Club, The Trust for Public Land, and The Nature Conservancy, have cited Louv's book.