Childhood malnutrition in the UK in 2024, and how Taylor Swift is trying to help.

Welcome to the MHD newsletter. A 3-minute weekly read where you will be encouraged to get reflective with a journal prompt, have relevant reading suggestions with a new book each month and hear about nutrition in the news and what we have going on over in team MHD.

Compassionate Enquiry: How could you modify your use of social media to support your mental wellbeing? 

Asking you but also asking me. After listening to an episode on this topic on the Jay Shetty podcast this week (more about this below), I have been reflecting on how social media takes my attention and how most of the time it does not support my wellbeing.

Nutrition in the news:  Children in UK getting shorter due to malnutrition in ‘national embarrassment’

• This article from The Independent highlights the fact that Children in the UK are becoming shorter and having higher BMIs due to malnutrition as result of poor diets due to increasing poverty. 

• From 2013 to 2019, the average height of five-year-olds decreased, and the consumption of essential nutrients declined. Resulting in long-term health implications. 

• The increase in poverty is linked to the cost-of living crisis and greater disparity of wealth. I enjoy listening to the work of Gary Stevenson on the topic of wealth inequality- have a look at his youtube if this is something you are interested in too. 

How is Taylor Swift linked to this story? 

Taylor Swift has quietly been donating to food banks in each of the cities she performs in. In Liverpool the organisation St Andrew’s Community Network received enough donations to cover their costs for a year. Of course this doesn’t address the underlying issues (even Taylor doesn’t have the power to solve wealth inequality), but it is an amazing gift to give the communities she is visiting. 

Podcast recommendation:

Jonathan Haidt on the On Purpose Podcast-  Why Social Media has Caused a Collapse in Mental Health

“Your attention is one of your most valuable resources and it is drained away by social media”

My thoughts:

• I really like Jay Shetty’s work but it is a bit jarring that the podcast has had the ‘Diary of a CEO’ treatment. (You’ll know what I mean if you listen to it).

• It's this week's recommendation as I think it’s great communication of the real life impact that social media is having on the mental health, and even brain development of children. 

• The end of the podcast I particularly loved the discussion on spirituality and ancient wisdom and how social media takes us away from the traditional messages that have helped us thrive. 

• Haidt calls for restrictions on social media and smartphones in children as a public health intervention. Advocating for ‘no phones before 14 and no social media before 16’. As a result of his work there are groups of parents trying to raise their children to have a ‘smartphone free childhood’.

“We are embodied creatures; children should learn how to manage their bodies in the physical world before they start spending large amounts of time in the virtual world.”

If you want to read more of Jonathan Haidt’s work he has a free substack: https://substack.com/@jonathanhaidt 

July Book of the month, as chosen by you:

The Wisdom of Your Body by Hillary McBride

Thank you for choosing this book, it has been on my reading list for a while so I can’t wait to read it with you.

Recipe recommendation

This week I made some oat and raisin cookies for my friend’s birthday. I always thought this was a mid-tier cookie but I have surprised myself. The cinnamon smell when it came out of the oven, and how soft and satisfying it was! Click here for the recipe.

That’s all from us this week, back again same time next week.

Look after yourself <3

Sophie and the team at Mental Health Dietitians.