Child health: Experts condemn “appalling decline” in UK

Children in the UK are being “betrayed” by the country’s failure to provide them a healthy start to life, a damning report has concluded.1

The Academy of Medical Sciences said in a report that the UK has overseen an “appalling decline” in the physical and mental health of children under the age of 5, highlighting the rise in infant mortality, obesity, and tooth decay in recent years.

The academy, which represents medical scientists and health researchers across the UK, said that urgent action was needed to avert the damaging impact on children themselves and the country’s future economic prosperity.

Helen Minnis, co-chair of the report and an academic at Glasgow university, said, “Every child has the …