In an article for BBC’s ‘Science Focus’ he says: “Improving the health of children, all children, must be a priority – if only because unhealthy children tend to become unhealthy adults.”
He acknowledged that in England universal primary school meals are currently available in London and certain other local authority areas and that for the rest of the country a child will still qualify for free school meals when their family receives certain benefits or asylum support, or meets an income threshold.
He adds: “But it isn’t automatic, and the moment you put a label on someone, you risk introducing stigma. If it’s universal, then it’s equitable. Everyone should have access to nutritious food. The UK, in spite of being the sixth wealthiest country in the world, suffers from an unconscionably high level of food insecurity.
“You may think that we're not in the heart of a major famine, but food insecurity is different from starvation. It is defined as a ‘limited access to food due to lack of money or other resources’. And the ones in society that are impacted most of all by malnutrition are and have always been, children.”
He goes on to make the point that those in the bottom 20% of the socioeconomic strata are almost twice as likely to end up living with obesity.
“If an individual is genetically susceptible to obesity, being exposed to a less healthy environment maximises their genetic burden, while a healthier environment more than halves the risk.”
He says that, for many, the ‘healthy’ option is simply not affordable or convenient.
And concludes by saying: “The greatest tragedy of all is that diet-related illnesses, as is true with most diseases, are shouldered by children and young people from the poorest and most marginalised communities, creating a vicious cycle and perpetuating poverty across generations.”