WHO condemns UK health inequalities

A three-year investigation into public health published by the World Health Organisation has discovered large health inequalities in Britain.

The organisation shed light on domestic inequality, claiming that the life expectancy of a boy growing in the deprived east Glaswegian suburb of Carlston is 54, compared to a boy born a few miles away in Lenzie, East Dunbartonshire, who would expect to live to 82.

To blame for the situation is a "toxic combination of bad policies, economics and politics", according to the WHO's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health.

And in response to its own findings, the WHO recommends that countries focus on improving housing, workplaces and access to healthcare, as well as equalising the distribution of power, resources and funds.

Despite the damning report, health secretary Alan Johnson said that he expected the government to reach its target of reducing health inequalities by 10 per cent in two years' time.

"[Chairman of the commission Sir Michael Marmot] makes the point that in the UK we have gone an awful long way over the last 10 years to tackle health inequalities.
 
"The report makes the point that the factors that influence health inequalities are early years, how you manage the availability of good food, it is about housing, and about low wages. There are a variety of different factors.
 
"If you look at everything from Sure Start, from the national minimum wage, to the driving down of child poverty, right across government you will see us tackling this issue."

 

Stakeholder Response: Association for Physical Education

Professor Margaret Talbot, chief executive of the Association for Physical Education told ePolitix.com:

The Association for Physical Education (afPE) has been concerned for some time, about the lack of co-ordinated action about children's health. The budget allocations from the Department of Health for preventive measures are wholly inadequate; and there is little evidence of coherent policy thinking on the issue. It has published a position statement on the role of physical education in promoting physical activity for health, see www.afpe.or.uk

The rising incidence of childhood obesity is only one of several trends which directly affect health and wellbeing. It is regrettable that the debate on combating childhood obesity has been repeatedly hijacked, by both the commercial interests of the food industry, and by moral panics about junk food and diet – energy input.

It is rare that debates include consideration of energy output, for example exercise and physical activity. This is sad, since physical activity not only has the potential to help avoid obesity through balancing output and input. 

It is time to recognise that this issue requires radical action and excellent leadership, involving many agencies to ensure that young children, who cannot be 'blamed' for developing unhealthy food and inactivity habits if they are lacking examples of good practice, avoid the debilitating and unhealthy lifestyles which lead to childhood and adult obesity.

Physical education is a statutory entitlement for all children aged 5-16 in the UK, yet it is woefully under-resourced, especially in regard to initial training for primary teachers, many of whom receive as little as six hours preparation to teach physical education in their initial training.

This means that, despite some primary schools being able to offer children excellent programmes of physical education during the age phase when they are most skill hungry and likely to be physically active, many others cannot, because of teachers' lack of confidence, as a direct result of inadequate initial training. This is a systemic weakness which could be fixed, given the political will, and without extra funding.

afPE invites ministers, other politicians and decision-makers to cease the piecemeal approaches which have been utilised so far to children's health; and commit to a comprehensive and pre-emptive approach which uses all available systems of delivery – including schools, community agencies, family policy and broad policies to promote physical activity along with healthy eating.