UK’s children as among the unhealthiest in western Europe…

From The Guardian:

Children in the UK will grow up to be one of the unhealthiest generations in decades, with child health outcomes having declined or stalled completely across all areas, a group of leading paediatricians has said.

Reduced vaccination rates alongside rising hospital admissions for asthma and mental health disorders are all contributing factors to the UK’s record on children’s health, which should be seen as a “national embarrassment”, their analysis has found.

The report, published by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), analysed 12 globally recognised indicators of child health and wellbeing including infant mortality rates, oral health, obesity, vaccination rates, the prevalence of mental health disorders and asthma rates. Child health outcomes across the UK had significantly stagnated across all metrics, portraying the UK’s children as among the unhealthiest in western Europe.

Locally, according to data published by the Mental Health Champion, an alarming 45.2% of 16-year-olds in NI show signs of probable mental ill-health (affecting 52.9% of females and 32.8% of males). Approximately 1 in 6 (16.2%) exhibit indications of an eating disorder. Nearly 1 in 10 (approx. 10%) report engaging in self-injurious behaviour. 1 in 8 report having thought about or attempted suicide.

The UK defence budget is £68 billion but the reality is that a Russian soldier will likely never set foot in the UK or Ireland. Instead, the actual things that are harming our young people and society, we invite them in and even give them tax breaks. The social media companies that massively contribute to poor mental health and societal instability. The online gambling companies that addict our young people. The porn companies screwing up relationship formation. The large multinationals serving up a diet of ultra-processed junk food.

The most damning statistic is that prisoners get more exercise than most young people. Unhealthy kids grew up to be unhealthy adults, putting yet more pressure on our already strained health service as well as contributing to our massive economically inactive population, which already is running at 26% The highest in the UK.

But as a society we don’t give a flying f*ck about kids killing themselves, cutting themselves, stuck in their rooms on their devices without any meaningful friendships, kids without good employment and relationships prospects. We especially don’t care about poor kids on grim housing estates. We only care about our children that we segregate off into grammar schools so they can mix with the ‘right sort’. We care about bonfires, flags, culture wars and all the other bullsh*t instead.

Brian O'Neill

Managing Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.