GROWING health disparities which mean that young people in the poorest areas are at greater risk of infant mortality and childhood obesity are a “national problem for Scotland,” researchers have warned.

The University of Glasgow’s Dr Anna Pearce said the widening of inequality was “worrying,” particularly as soaring inflation puts yet more financial pressure on families.

Research carried out by the institution’s MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit found “stark and concerning data” showing that children living in deprived areas are 2.6 times more likely to die before their first birthday as their better-off peers. 

Although overall infant mortality has declined since 2000, the research showed a rise after 2014 in the poorest fifth of areas.

The study, part of an independent review being undertaken by the Health Foundation charity, also revealed that by 2018-19, children in the same areas were twice as likely to be overweight than those in wealthier families.

Researchers also reported an increase in the proportion of two-year-olds who had not been immunised against measles, mumps and rubella in three of the five most deprived areas north of the border.

The absolute gap between the richest and poorest areas increased from 0.8 per cent in 2014 to a significant 4.5 per cent in 2021, with relative inequalities doubling.

Dr Pearce said that the cost-of-living crisis could exacerbate the situation as a “healthy balanced diet is considerably more expensive calorie for calorie and therefore increasingly inaccessible to those on the lowest incomes.”

Health Foundation assistant director David Finch added: “This stark and concerning data shows the importance of supporting good health and tackling inequalities for children from the youngest ages.”