Daily roundup: Hugging children, healthy diets, and benefit cap

A health minister has called on nurseries that ban physical contact with children to rethink their policies. According to the Telegraph, Dan Poulter who works as a hospital doctor in women’s and children’s health, said research that showed nurseries are telling staff not to cuddle or comfort children was “alarming”. “There is increasingly strong evidence to suggest that a lack of emotional support and physical reassurance from parents and carers during the early years can be damaging to a child's health, wellbeing, and future life chances,” Poulter said.

The British Heart Foundation has warned that children face serious health problems in later life because they are not eating enough fruit and vegetables and are not doing enough exercise. Sky News reports that the BHF report, alongside Oxford University research, estimates that 30 per cent of children and young people are overweight or obese, which can lead to problems including diabetes and heart disease.