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Children raised under UK austerity shorter than European peers, study finds
Average height of boys and girls aged five has slipped due to poor diet and NHS cuts, experts say
www.theguardian.com
British children who grew up during the years of austerity are shorter than their peers in Bulgaria, Montenegro and Lithuania, a study has found.
In 1985, British boys and girls ranked 69 out of 200 countries for average height aged five. At the time they were on average 111.4cm and 111cm tall respectively.
Now, British boys are 102nd and girls 96th, with the average five-year-old boy measuring 112.5cm and the average girl, 111.7cm. In Bulgaria, the average height for a five-year-old boy is 121cm and a girl, 118cm.
Food experts point out that a diet of cheap junk food makes people simultaneously overweight and undernourished.