A stark new report from The King’s Fund think tank, highlighted by The Telegraph, warns that Generation Z is in the grips of a severe health crisis, threatening to create a “left-behind generation.”
While young adults are commendably smoking and drinking less than their predecessors, experts are sounding the alarm over soaring rates of obesity and a devastating mental health epidemic.
The data paints a concerning picture: the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds classified as obese jumped from 31% in 2002 to 37% in 2022.
More critically, the number of 17 to 19-year-olds with a probable mental health disorder has more than doubled, rocketing from 10% in 2017 to a shocking 23% in 2023. This is compounded by a similar doubling of disability rates in the 15-24 age group between 2011 and 2021.
The crisis is being fueled by twin problems: inadequate support and socioeconomic factors.
The analysis found young people are struggling to access mental health and disability services because the NHS has not kept up with demand, leading to a worrying ‘disengagement’ from services. Compounding this, a crucial driver of poor health is poverty, with an alarming one quarter of 16 to 24-year-olds—over 1.2 million—living below the poverty line.
To avert a long-term health catastrophe, The King’s Fund urges the Government to act now. The solution requires either re-engaging Gen Z with the NHS or adopting a broader health policy that looks beyond clinical services to tackle underlying causes like poverty. Without greater intervention, the report concludes, Gen Z will feel the effects of poor health for the rest of their lives.