• A policy focus on children
• young@heart website now online
• The young@heart initiative
• Post summit statement
• Further information
• Useful links
• References

What's new in children's health and young@heart?

There is a large and growing body of evidence that factors in early life influence the risk of coronary heart disease in adulthood. Strong associations between deprivation and poor dietary habits, obesity rates and smoking are causing wide and growing health inequalities between children living in higher and lower income households. A policy focus on children is a natural step from the key recommendations of recent NHF reports and the government-commissioned Independent inquiry into inequalities in health (published in 1998).1 Such a focus will build on the government’s commitments to improve children’s health in Our healthier nation 2 and the NHS Plan 3 and to end child poverty in the next 20 years.

The young@heart website is now online at www.heartforum.org.uk/young. It contains background information on the young@heart initiative, and invites input. Please visit!

The young@heart policy framework will be downloadable from the website from 14 February 2002.

Policy framework

The young@heart policy framework will be launched in Parliament on 14 February 2002 at the House of Lords. A media launch will be held on 13 February at a school in Westminster, with embargo on the framework until 00.01 on 14 February. The policy framework is based on a draft document which was presented at the young@heart summit in June 2001, reflecting the contributions of NHF members, invited summit participants and others. It is a blueprint for national plans for children's and young people's health and well-being in the UK. Embargoed press material will be available from the beginning of February from Jane Landon at the National Heart Forum on 020 7383 7638.

Evolution of young@heart

The young@heart project started with a wide-ranging process of scientific review and policy development, firstly by looking at the broad range of behavioural, social and environmental factors affecting children’s health. Professor Klim McPherson, NHF vice chairman, convened a working group of experts in epidemiology and children’s behaviour. Members of the working group were commissioned to write papers on various factors in early life and the influence these have on cardiovascular risk in maturity. Under the chairmanship of Mr John Wyn Owen (secretary of the Nuffield Trust), a multidisciplinary working group of policy experts was brought together to examine current government and European policy as it affects the lives and health of children. This group developed draft policy proposals which were considered at the policy summit.

At the policy summit in June 2001 policy makers and experts in health, children’s rights and welfare developed an agenda for policy action to build health and prevent coronary heart disease throughout the life course. The draft policy framework which was scrutinised at the summit has been developed into the framework which is to be launched in February.

Following the publication of the young@heart policy framework, a report of the scientific and policy evidence forming the rationale for the recommendations will be published. Contact us to register your interest now in receiving details about forthcoming young@heart publications.

An important element of the young@heart policy development process has been ensuring that policy recommendations reflect the reality of children’s lives. To achieve this, the evidence takes account of the knowledge, experience and views of children and young people. A review was jointly commissioned by the NHF and the Health Development Agency to identify key surveys of children’s views commissioned by government, charities and statutory agencies to meet this aim.

A talkshop was also held, organised jointly by the NHF and National Children's Bureau, looking at children's attitudes to "healthy" behaviours. Funding for this workshop which sought the views of around thirty children from ages 11-17 was provided by the Health Development Agency. A video was made of the event and shown at the summit in June 2001.

The NHF is grateful to the member organisations and funding bodies which are supporting young@heart, including the British Heart Foundation, the Health Development Agency and the Nuffield Trust. A dedicated website is now online at www.heartforum.org.uk/young which has further information about the initiative.

Child health plan urgently needed to prevent coronary heart disease epidemic in future generations.
Every child born in the UK today should be able to live to at least the age of 65 free of avoidable coronary heart disease. This is the goal of the National Heart Forum's young@heart initiative. In June, 90 opinion formers and experts from multidisciplinary fields came together at a policy summit to discuss how to achieve 'a healthy start for a new generation'.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading single cause of death in adults in the UK. Every year, around 86,000 men and women suffer a heart attack before the age of 65, and over 21,000 people under 65 die of CHD. The total costs to the UK economy - in terms of working days lost and health care costs - are estimated to be £10 billion per year. Yet CHD is a largely preventable disease.
 

Making child health the focus of CHD prevention
The development of CHD can start in early life and has its origins in the major modifiable risk factors of poor diet, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking and the impact of poverty. Improving child health - by addressing these risk factors - is key to tackling adult diseases, including stroke, some cancers and CHD. Inaction now creates a public health time-bomb for future generations, with the potential for rising premature death rates from coronary heart disease.

The government has pledged to cut deaths by at least 40% by 2010. But if this reduction is to be maintained, the startling gap in strategies to build children's health must be urgently addressed.

young@heart recommendations
• Governments across the UK should demonstrate strong, visible and sustained leadership by establishing children and young people’s health and well being units in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to develop national child health plans.
• The plans should contain comprehensive strategies - with targets - to improve children and young people’s nutrition and physical activity levels and to tackle smoking. These should be established without delay and form the key planks of the plan.
• The views of children and young people must inform the development of the plan.
• Current investment should be maintained, if not increased, for family and child anti-poverty policies.
• More research is needed to develop anti-poverty policies and comprehensive anti-smoking strategies. These should be targeted at children and young people and complement adult campaigns and programmes.
 

A new policy framework for a new generation
If current knowledge about the causes and prevention of CHD are turned into effective policy action focusing on children and young people, death and disability from avoidable coronary heart disease among people under 65 could be virtually eliminated. The full young@heart framework of recommendations forms a comprehensive set of actions at local, regional and national levels. It will be launched in early 2002.

For more information about the young@heart initiative see the dedicated website online at www.heartforum.org.uk/young

A short selection of websites with further information about children’s health policy appears below. For more links, see Members page. For statistics on children and risk factors for coronary heart disease, see Facts page.

British Heart Foundation (www.bhf.org.uk)

Child Poverty Action Group (www.cpag.org.uk)

Healthy Schools Scheme (www.wiredforhealth.gov.uk/healthy/healsch.html)

National Children’s Bureau (www.ncb.org.uk)

UNICEF (www.unicef.org.uk)

1 Acheson D. 1998.
Independent inquiry into inequalities in health.
London: The Stationery Office

2 Department of Health 1999
Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation.
London: The Stationery Office

3 Department of Health 2000
The NHS Plan: A plan for investment, a plan for reform.
London: The Stationery Office