Avoidable early life environmental exposures

摘要

“It is easier to build a strong child than to repair broken men”, is a statement widely attributed to Frederick Douglass, whose early years in slavery had given him a poor start in life. Our early years matter because the environment shapes our future health and resillience to unhealthy environments later in life. The risks to a child's health if the mother is obese, smokes during pregnancy, or develops pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes, or if the child's diet is high in sugar, salt, and trans-saturated fat, are well known.1 However, the unrecognised risks to the health of future generations are increasingly concerning. WHO2 has published an Atlas on children's health and the environment, noting that “26% of the deaths of 5·9 million children who died before reaching their fifth birthday could have been prevented through addressing environmental risks—a shocking missed opportunity”.