Health and food experts warning amid significant decline in children’s health

Health and food experts call on the next Government to reverse significant decline in children’s health  

Children in England are now shorter and more likely to have obesity and type 2 diabetes, with long term health prospects for our children at risk

Health and food experts and campaigners including Jamie Oliver, Gordon Brown, Michael Marmot and The Food Foundation are calling for the next government to urgently address the steady decline in children’s health that has been seen in the UK over the last two decades.

A new report from The Food Foundation, A Generation Neglected: Reversing the decline in children’s health in England, contains shocking stats that show that in England:

• The height of five-year olds has been falling since 2013 with UK children shorter than those in nearly all other high income countries (with boys ranked shortest and girls second shortest)
• Obesity among 10-11 year olds has increased by 30% since 2006, with 1 in 5 children living with obesity by the time they leave primary school
• Type 2 diabetes in young people has tripled since 2012. Despite previously known as adult onset diabetes, the obesity epidemic led to the first cases being diagnosed in adolescents in the UK in 2000
• Babies born today will enjoy a year less good health than babies born a decade ago

The report, which assesses data from a range of sources, including the Non-Communicable Diseases Risk Factor Collaboration, the National Child Measurement Programme, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Office for National Statistics, reveals a steady decline in children’s health across multiple metrics amongst today’s children compared to today’s young adults.

The report highlights a deeply worrying increase in conditions driven by calorie dense diets such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, but also highlights the less talked about results of poor-quality diets and undernutrition, which are increasingly impacting on our children and co-existing with obesity.

The findings raise questions regarding the nutritional quality of food that children are eating. Poor diet could be due to a range of factors, from high levels of poverty and deprivation to the aggressive promotion of cheap junk food by the food industry.

The Food Foundation found that in January 2024, 20% of households with children in the UK reported experiencing food insecurity. We also know that more healthy foods are over twice as expensive per calorie as less healthy foods and 33% of food and soft drink advertising spend goes on unhealthy products, compared to 1% on fruit and veg.

Failure to reverse the current trajectory will lead to a generation burdened throughout their lives by diet-related illness and the consequences that brings with it: the mental health impact of living with disease, an overwhelmed healthcare system that is unable to treat people effectively, and economic inactivity that weakens GDP.

Authors and supporters of the report are calling on all political parties to recognise the importance of the food system in shaping our nation and to ensure that every child can access the nutrition needed to grow up healthily, and commit to take urgent action.

Jamie Oliver, celebrity chef and food campaigner, said: "Decades of government neglect has meant kids are suffering from more obesity-related illnesses, leading to average heights shrinking and living shorter lives – they’re not being given the chance to be happy, healthy people. And they deserve so much more than that.

"We need to reverse this trend if we’re to have the healthiest generation of kids, and to do that we need to take a serious look at the food that fuels us. And right now, it’s not pretty.

"There’s no silver bullet to fix this, which is why we need a comprehensive approach that doesn’t just tinker around the edges but revolutionises the rules and fundamentally improves the quality of food across the board. The leader who understands this and gets serious about child health will be the person who turned the tide on obesity – and won."

Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister, said: "When the height of five-year olds has been falling since 2013, and we’re learning babies born today will enjoy a year less good health than babies born a decade ago, every mother and father in the land will be concerned and shocked at what is happening to children through lack of nutrition living through the hungry 2020s in food bank Britain."

Henry Dimbleby, the former government food tsar and author of the National Food Strategy, said: "The decline in children’s health shown clearly in this report is a shocking and deeply sad result of the failures of the food system in the UK.

"We need the next Government to take decisive action to make healthy and sustainable food affordable, stem the constant flow of junk food and to realise that investing in children’s health is an investment in the future of the country." 

Michael Marmot, director of the UCL Institute of Health Equity and professor of epidemiology and public health said: "Over a century of history has led us to expect continuous improvements in health.

"Over the last dozen years that has changed. Healthy life expectancy has declined. Quite simply, people’s fundamental human needs are not being met."

Anna Taylor, Executive Director at The Food Foundation, said: "The health problems being suffered by the UK’s children due to poor diet are entirely preventable. This is a national embarrassment.

"We hope this election year will mark a turning point. Politicians across the political spectrum must prioritise policies that give all children access to the nutrition they need to grow up healthily, as should be their right."

Baroness Anne Jenkin, Conservative Peer in the House of Lords, said: "The state of the nation’s health, especially our children’s, has never been worse and almost no one is talking about it. This is a timebomb waiting to explode if action isn’t taken. I welcome this report."

Lord James Bethell, Conservative Peer in the House of Lords said: "The health of the nation is going backwards and food plays a central role in this decline. It’s costing us a fortune, in money and happiness, so it’s time to act.

"This powerful report gives a clear account of the impact of poor food and bad eating habits on the children of Britain.

"Any new government should take the lessons to heart and immediate swing into action so we can change direction away from illness and towards a healthier, prosperous nation."

NOTE TO EDITORS

Please contact: Jo Ralling, Head of Campaigns, on 07770 500858 or email jo.ralling@foodfoundation.org.uk 

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ABOUT THE FOOD FOUNDATION
The Food Foundation is a charity working to influence food policy and business practice, shaping a sustainable food system which makes healthy diets affordable and accessible for all. We work in partnership with researchers, campaigners, community bodies, industry, investors, government and citizens to galvanise the UK’s diverse agents of change, using surprising and inventive ideas to drive fundamental shifts in our food system. These efforts are based on the continual re-evaluation of opportunities for action, building and synthesising strong evidence, convening powerful coalitions, harnessing citizens’ voices and delivering impactful communications.        
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