For generations, thanks to advances in sanitation, medicine, education and food security, we’ve seen each new wave of children outlive their parents. But that trajectory could be reversing. Chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity, once almost unheard of in children, are now becoming widespread. 

This isn’t about individual choices or parenting alone the broader system, from food environments to urban design, is setting up the next generation for poorer health and, potentially, shorter lives.