“Constipation is increasing in children, we know from that national diet survey that fibre intakes are not adequate, coupled with food poverty and the cost of living crisis, it does impact children,” said Rebecca McManamon, a consultant dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association.
“We shouldn’t be having that many children being treated for constipation in hospital,” said Prof Monica Lakhanpaul, a consultant paediatrician at Whittington Health NHS trust and University College London.
Juliette Rayner, chief executive of Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence (ERIC), a children’s bowel and bladder charity, said that some families struggle to get GP appointments and, with fewer health visitors, don’t receive help until the problem has become entrenched.
With one recent survey suggesting that one in four children starting school in England and Wales are not toilet-trained, teachers are increasingly on the frontline of teaching healthy toilet habits.
Some clinicians said they are seeing more cases and blamed factors including poverty, food insecurity, and children starting school before they are toilet trained.
