Would disadvantage still exist if we had all the physical foundations to thrive?

Thank science for BBC2! Check out the trailer for the recently released 'Countdown to Life' documentary on BBC2. This is the first in a series of four documentaries that builds on some of our thinking in our earlier post on fetal programming and the notion that our earliest life experiences (i.e. those in the womb) can predict our destiny.

Let's hope the trailer has you interested.

In the early stages of the full documentary, parallels are drawn between a tightrope walker and life. Usually I'm not an analogy kind-of-guy (to be honest I find them overly wanky) but many of the comparisons made between both concepts paint an interesting picture (and lets be honest, I'm probably pretty wanky anyway.....).

Let's imagine that the tightrope represents life and the tightrope walker is (obviously) the person trying to navigate their way through it. Walking on a tightrope requires a specific blend of physical attributes, concentration, coordination between several of the body's systems in addition to regular training and persistent dedication. The fact of the matter is that not all of us are born with the right makeup to automatically walk the tightrope. Some can train hard and refine their skills to a point where they can walk the tightrope independently. Some can train as hard as they like but still can't overcome a lack of balance. And some will never walk the tightrope unsupported or how it is conventionally presented to us.

The science behind the concepts explained in 'Countdown to Life' is extraordinary. It describes the process of the first 8 weeks of life in the womb, of which the critical structures fall in to place and showcases that each journey to birth is unique.

So what does this have to do with us?

The documentary features a village in Gambia where a longditudinal study has taken place over the last 70 years.  One of the study's findings was that children born in the dry season vs. the wet season were up to seven times more likely to die as a young adult. This was mainly to do with the intake of green leafy vegetables in the wet season compared to a grain based diet in the dry season. Consumption of green leafy vegetables causes a reaction that dampens an overactive gene associated with making someone less able to fight infection.

This isn't me saying that nutrition is the answer to all things (mainly because I know close to nothing about nutrition...) but is a prime example of how sensitive in utero development is and provides some direction for how to break down intergenerational inequality and disadvantage. What would a world look like where everyone has the same foundations to live? Would disadvantage still exist?