The whole society approach: Making a giant leap on childhood health
Article
Health improved radically in the 20th century, but progress has since stalled.
The UK has the opportunity to make another ‘giant leap’ forward; to achieve this, the government will need to address growing levels of ‘health risk’ faced by children. Any progress would be good for health, business and the economy.
A recent increase in ambition, as shown by government's 'obesity strategy' announcement in July 2020, is good, but we must still go further and faster. In particular, we need to:
- expand ambition from obesity to all health issues
- tackle the link between childhood health and issues like marginalisation, poverty and deprivation
- ensure we are using the full range of levers offered by a collective approach.
This report outlines what we call a ‘whole society’ approach, designed to make these gains.
Related items
Reset: Building modern partnerships with the countries of the global south
The UK's relationships with many countries of the ‘global south’ are in a poor state.Taken to heart: Inequalities in heart disease in Scotland
More than 7.6 million people across the UK live with cardiovascular disease (CVD), around twice as many as live with Alzheimer’s disease and cancer combined.Skills passports: An essential part of a fair transition
This month, government will publish its Clean Energy Workforce Strategy. This plan covers two aims. First, filling the growing demand for skills in clean energy industries is essential to keep on track to reach the government’s clean power…