How we grow up

The Evidence

The way we start out in life sets up the building blocks for our future health and wellbeing. Getting a good start in life and throughout childhood, building resilience and getting maximum benefit from education are important markers for good health and wellbeing throughout life. 

Adverse childhood experiences are harms that affect children directly (eg abuse and neglect) or indirectly through their living environment (eg parental conflict, substance misuse or mental illness). There is growing evidence that these experiences in childhood have an effect on future physical and mental health. There is also evidence of a dose-response relationship, ie the more adverse experiences, the greater the impact. 

If we think of cardiovascular disease as a premature ageing of the heart and major blood vessels, we can see risk factors as accelerating the ageing process, leading to earlier onset of disease. We all show increasing signs of ageing in our organs as we get older, but some of us age biologically at a faster rate than others. Biological ageing is strongly influenced by lifestyle factors and adverse experiences in childhood. It is important that we recognise this, identify the risks early and, where we can, put support in place to prevent or mitigate them.

How do we shape up? 

The ACE Index, a measure devised by researchers to calculate rates of events that represent childhood adversity, was found to be strongly associated with the proportion of children that live in income-deprived households (child poverty). We know that just over 1 in 6 children in Torbay under 16 lived in a low-income family during 2020/21. This rate was higher than the South West average but lower than England for 2020/21. 

What we can do? 

The importance of supporting children in their early years and through adolescence has been widely recognised by the World Health Organisation’s Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative, and is part of the NHS Long Term Plan. The Levelling Up White Paper highlights the impact of education and skills, health and wellbeing, on the economic life and opportunity of the whole community.  Offering support to all children, adolescents and their families, as well as focussing on those who need help the most, reduces inequalities and improves health outcomes.