British children face a lifetime of poor health as junk food diets have stunted their growth and fueled a rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes, a damning report warns.
The Food Foundation says children grow up in an environment that makes feeding them healthy “an almost unbelievably difficult challenge.”
He blames the “aggressive promotion” of foods high in fat, sugar and salt and “shocking” levels of poverty that put healthier alternatives out of reach for some families.
Policies to improve nutritional intake have been “mediocre and wholly insufficient” to address the severity of the problem, the charity adds.
The consequence is a “disconcerting deterioration” in children’s well-being, with babies born today expected to enjoy one year less of good health than those born a decade ago.
More than one million children have had their height and weight measured under the National Child Measurement Program (NCMP). Nationally, the rate among Year 6 children stands at more than a third, despite having fallen slightly since Covid began.
Among sixth-form pupils, national obesity fell from 23.4 per cent in 2021/22 to 22.7 per cent. Meanwhile, the proportion of children considered overweight or obese also decreased, from 37.8 percent to 36.6. Both measures are above pre-pandemic levels
The report highlights the “deeply worrying” rise in diseases caused by “high-calorie diets”, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.
But he emphasizes that there has been an “equally worrying” and “paradoxical” increase in malnutrition, which is hindering the physical and mental development of children.
Obesity among 10- and 11-year-olds has increased 30 percent since 2006 and more than one in five children is obese by the time they leave primary school.
The first cases of type 2 diabetes in adolescents were diagnosed in the UK in 2000 and have increased substantially since then, tripling levels between 2012/13 and 2020/21, the report notes.
Meanwhile, the average height of 5-year-olds has been falling since 2013, after years of progress, with British boys ranked the shortest and girls second among developed countries.
This followed a reduction in the consumption of key nutrients, including calcium, zinc, vitamin A, folate and iron.
The report, A neglected generation: reversing the decline in children’s health in England, warns that if underlying problems are not controlled, “a generation will be burdened with diet-related illnesses for their entire lives.”
It says eight in ten obese teens remain obese into adulthood, increasing their risk of heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes.
Furthermore, this obesity costs the UK approximately £98 billion a year.
The report adds: ‘These findings raise fundamental questions about the nutritional quality of the foods children eat, as well as broader socio-economic forces that shape the conditions for optimal growth and development in young children.
‘For all children to thrive and grow up healthy, it is essential that they have access to a diet that provides them with all the essential nutrients.
‘What is deeply worrying about the health problems highlighted in this report is that they are largely preventable.
‘No child needs to suffer this way if they can simply have the basic right of access to healthy food.
“All children should be able to eat in a way that nourishes their bodies and minds, providing them with enough calories and nutrients to be free from hunger and the diseases resulting from nutritional deficiency, while at the same time being protected from the bombardment of ultra-processed, highly sugary foods. and salty.” which often contribute to excess caloric intake but lack vitamins, minerals, fiber, healthy fats and quality proteins.’
Anna Taylor, executive director of The Food Foundation, described the situation as a “national shame” and said giving children access to the nutrition they need should be their right.
Baroness Anne Jenkin, Conservative MP and anti-food poverty campaigner, said: “The state of the nation’s health, especially that of our children, has never been worse and hardly anyone is talking about it.”
“This is a time bomb waiting to explode if action is not taken.”
Henry Dimbleby, former government food tsar and author of the National Food Strategy, said: “The deterioration in children’s health clearly shown in this report is a shocking and deeply sad result of the failings of the UK’s food system.
“We need the next Government to take decisive action to make healthy and sustainable food affordable, curb the constant flow of junk food and realize that investing in children’s health is an investment in the country’s future.”
And former Labor Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “Every mother and father in the country will be worried and shocked by what is happening to children due to lack of nutrition.”