POVERTY IMPACTS HEIGHT AND HEALTH OF KIDS
CHILDREN living in deprived areas are more than a centimetre shorter than those in richer communities, a report has revealed.
By the age of 11, the wealth gap shows the difference in height between boys is 1.5cm and 0.8cm in girls.
And the income divide also has an impact on children’s health as those from poorer backgrounds are twice as likely to be obese by the time they start primary school than those from higher income families.
The annual Broken Plate report – part of footballer Marcus Rashford’s campaign to end childhood food poverty – forecast that more than half of all children born this year are likely to have diabetes by the time they reach 65.
According to the Food Foundation study, trying to eat a balanced diet is more expensive for those struggling to make ends meet as Britain’s poorest families would need to spend 40 per cent of their disposable income – after housing costs – on food to stick to the Government’s healthy eating guidelines.
By comparison, wealthier households need only spend about eight per cent to be able to maintain a healthy diet. The study found healthy foods were three times more expensive than junk food, costing £7.68 per 1000 calories compared with £2.48 for those high in sugar, salt and fat.
Food Foundation director Anna Taylor said: “Covid has exposed the devastating consequences of diet-related disease, showing that efforts to shift our food system in favour of healthy eating have been too little, too late.”