Poverty and social inequalities in childhood have profound effects on the health of children, and their impact on health continues to reverberate throughout the life course into late adulthood. Globally and historically, poverty has been the major determinant of child and adult health1 and, even in rich nations such as the UK, it remains a major cause of ill health with huge public health consequences. 2 The rapidly growing and developing fetus3 and child4 seem to be particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of poverty providing a further powerful argument for policy initiatives designed to protect children from its.
