State of UK child health ‘lagging behind much of Europe’

The performance of the UK on several key measures of child health is lagging behind many other wealthy European nations, according to a new study.

Published by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), the State of Child Health report indicated that nearly one in five children in the UK is affected by poverty and inequality, with the most deprived youngsters experiencing much worse health outcomes than the most affluent.

Britain was shown to rank 15th out of 19 Western European countries on infant mortality, with one of the highest rates for children and young people in the region, while the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy is also higher than in many European countries.

Moreover, breastfeeding in England and Scotland has shown minimal improvement since data was first collected in 1975, and more than one in five children in England, Scotland and Wales in the first year of primary school are overweight or obese, with minimal improvements seen in the last decade.

Professor Neena Modi, president of the RCPCH, said: "The UK is one of the richest countries in the world; we can and must do better, for the sake for each individual, and that of the nation as a whole."

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