Dr. Sabena Kagalwalla on 'The Childhood Health Crisis: From Deprivation to Digital Age Challenges'

EnviroHealth Podcast - Season 2, Episode 3: Dr. Sabena Kagalwalla on 'The Childhood Health Crisis: From Deprivation to Digital Age Challenges'

Host Dr. Joseph Levermore speaks with Dr. Sabena Kagalwalla, consultant paediatrician and innovation fellow at Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. They examine why the UK has fallen from world leader to 30th out of 49 OECD countries in infant mortality, and explore the complex web of factors undermining children's health in the 21st century.

Topics Covered:

• How the UK built its paediatric health leadership through hygiene, vaccination, and universal healthcare
• The stark reality: 700 preventable child deaths annually linked to social deprivation
• Rising lifestyle-based pathologies replacing traditional genetic conditions
• Type 2 diabetes now appearing in children - a phenomenon virtually unknown during medical training
• Mental health crises hitting younger ages: suicide attempts in children as young as 10-11
• The lost generation of breastfeeding knowledge and its impact on infant mortality
• How single-parent families, dual-income pressures, and housing instability create health vulnerabilities
• Social media's double-edged impact on developing brains and adolescent mental health
• The intersection of culture, technology, and generational gaps in healthcare

Key Insights:

• Children now present with constipation and abdominal pain as early indicators of lifestyle-related health issues
• Healthcare systems designed for acute medical conditions struggle with multifactorial social problems
• Frontline paediatric staff lack training for adolescent mental health, sexual health, and substance use discussions
• Nordic countries demonstrate how early investment in family support creates healthier populations
• Technology provides unprecedented access to health information while simultaneously creating new vulnerabilities

The Prediction Pattern: Dr. Kagalwalla reveals how toddler constipation can predict later obesity, dental problems, behavioural issues, and eating disorders - a cascade that healthcare systems aren't equipped to interrupt.

Quotes: "When I was training, you would never see someone with type 2 diabetes during their paediatric lifespan. Now you are getting patients with type 2 diabetes before the age of 18."

"It's not as simple as throwing a medication at it anymore. It's almost not as simple as throwing a load of money at it either."

"We're living in an age where the differences between grandparents and parents and their children are massive, and we have not been able to build our healthcare systems to address these problems."

Credits:

• Host: Dr. Joseph Levermore
• Guest: Dr. Sabena Kagalwalla (Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust)
• Executive Producer: Neil Japtha
• Production: EnviroHealth Podcast

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