What is the problem?
About 1-in-5 children are already defined as being overweight or living with obesity when they start primary school – and this increase to about 1-in-4 by the time they leave primary school.
Similar to many other areas, many children in Bradford consume too much sugar, fat and not enough fibre, vitamin D, or fruits and vegetables.
Unfortunately, rates are much worse in families living in the most deprived areas and food insecurity levels are amongst the highest in the whole of England (20% of families experience food insecurity in Bradford).
What have we found?
- Food insecurity is linked to financial insecurity and worse mental health
- Childhood obesity is linked to mother’s obesity
- Working in partnership with other large European studies, we have found that Toxins found in air pollution, tobacco smoke, and diet reduce birth weight, but fruit and vegetable intake could protect against this
- Fasting during Ramadan does not increase risk of preterm birth or low birth weight babies
- There are some differences in the types of foods eaten by families of different ethnicities
- Food insecurity is associated with increased BMI and poorer dietary intakes
- We explored all of the community food organisations that supported people during the COVID-19 lock-down in Bradford
- Children experience hunger whose parents don’t meet the eligibility cut-off for free school meals
What has changed as a result?
Our findings have been shared locally, regionally and nationally to help decision-makers think about ways to support families living in deprivation, to develop resources to help schools.
