Southampton researchers have joined calls for the appointment of a Cabinet Minister for Children.
Professors Keith Godfrey, Mark Hanson and Dr Chandni Maria Jacob have contributed to a new report that advises the Government to better prepare the future adult generation who will inherit the post-pandemic world.
The Physical Health of Children and Young People report is the second of four documents coordinated by The Children’s Alliance. It sets out a practical plan for action to reverse what it calls a serious decline in health and wellbeing of children and young people.
The three University of Southampton researchers are part of the opening two chapters of report. These discuss how the early years of a person’s life are instrumental in determining their future risk of non-communicable diseases.
The chapters also highlight the importance of nutrition during preconception, pregnancy and infancy. They show that these impact children’s physical development and have major consequences for their lifelong health.
Calls for new Cabinet Minister
The report shows that some groups of children and young people are disadvantaged by their family grouping, geographical, cultural or socioeconomic circumstances. It says a new Cabinet Minister for Children would make that a focus in all government departments.
Some of the key recommendations include:
· A preconception health strategy to be fully integrated into primary healthcare and raised in routine discussion during visits to clinicians
· Preconception health to be a statutory national school curriculum requirement
· A ‘family first’ as opposed to ‘children’s diet’ approach to be advocated by health and childcare professionals
· Re-positioning strategy to promote and encourage lifelong physical activity so that it is not presented solely/predominantly through a medical or ‘deficit’ lens
Professor Keith Godfrey, Theme Lead for Nutrition, Lifestyle and Metabolism in the NIHR Southampton BRC, said: “The health and wellbeing of our children and young people is in serious decline, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Effective co-ordinated measures led by Government are an urgent priority.
“As set out in today’s report, one of key measures must be a new focus on preconception health for the benefit of the next generation – this needs to include education about health and wellbeing before pregnancy and parenthood as a statutory national school curriculum requirement.”
New need for ‘co-ordinated measures’
Some authors of the report say that national focus on children’s physical health has become too preoccupied with weight management and addressing rising levels of obesity.
Baroness Frances D’Souza, The Honorary President of The Children’s Alliance, said: “Physical Health is a comprehensive study of children’s physical health during the time of COVID-19. It features the work of 37 nationally-renowned specialists in children’s health, and it is published during the ‘festive season’ when children are traditionally bombarded by advertised food and drink ‘treats’ – to be succeeded by yet more ineffective measures narrowly focussed on ‘fighting the flab’ by calorie counting and step counting.
“Without effective co-ordinated measures led by Government, we run the risk that the next generation of UK adults will be the least healthy in living memory.”