UK raising ‘one of the unhealthiest generations in decades’, report warns

The UK is on track to raise ‘one of the unhealthiest generations of children in decades’, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has warned.

Across vaccine uptake, obesity, mental health, admissions for asthma, infant mortality and more, the UK has either worsened over the past decade or stalled, their report found.

It means children in the UK are facing some of the worst health outcomes in Western Europe, and inequalities are widening, it added.

In the State of Child Health report, paediatricians warned that the environment children are growing up in is ‘causing harm’, and the impact is being felt ‘most sharply’ in deprived areas and among ethnic minority communities.

Recommendations from the report included strengthening primary care access, improving universal and targeted support for maternal care and early years services, and boosting investment in health visitors.

There also needs to be increased investment in vaccination services and workforce to scale evidence-based outreach, the report said, as well as increased funding for child and adolescent mental health services.

The college called on the Government to strengthen data collection so children’s health could be tracked more easily and to commit to explicit national targets to improve child health and reduce inequalities.

And there is a need to ‘address the inequity’ in spending between child and adult health services, the report concluded.

Among the figures cited by the report is that more than one in three children is overweight or obese by the end of primary school.

Infant mortality in the most deprived communities is more than double that seen in the least deprived areas, a ‘clear indicator’ of a failing healthcare system, it added.

Only 84% of children receive two doses of the MMR vaccine by age five, well below the WHO 95% target.

Asthma is one of the leading causes of emergency admission to hospital for children and progress has reversed in the past couple of years, the RCPCH said.

In England, the emergency admission rates had decreased from 217.1 admissions per 100,000 in 2014/15 to 122.2 in 2022/23, before increasing to 147.9 in 2023/24.

There is a need to strengthen routine asthma management but also improve air quality and reduce environmental exposures that make the condition worse, the report found.

RCPCH officer for health improvement, Dr Helen Stewart called the UK’s record on children’s health a ‘national embarrassment’.

She said: ‘Across Western Europe, many other countries are achieving better outcomes for children, yet too many children here are being left behind.

‘The State of Child Health report shows that we are categorically failing children in the UK, but especially those from ethnic minorities and poorer backgrounds.

‘Without action, more children will grow up in poor health, entering adulthood at a disadvantage and putting even greater pressure on families and public services.’

Dame Rachel de Souza, children’s commissioner for England, said factors such as where children live and family finances should not determine whether they can have a healthy start in life.

She said: ‘We must ensure every child who can be is vaccinated, every mother and baby gets dedicated care, and that every area is held to account for doing so.’

A Government spokesperson said: ‘Following a decade of neglect, too many children – particularly those growing up in the most deprived communities – continue to experience poorer health outcomes than they should.

‘That’s why this government is taking decisive action to lift children out of poverty, tackle health inequalities and raise the healthiest generation of children ever.

‘As well as ending the two-child limit, we’re expanding mental health support in schools and colleges, opening family hubs and local health centres, and protecting children through tougher rules on smoking, vapes and junk food ads.’