Food Allergies Doubled in a Decade, Study Finds

Largest real-world study to date shows sharp increase in young children with the life-threatening condition but does not attempt to address the cause.

T-shirts by the ALRJ brand with customizable logos warning about children's allergies, such as peanuts, nuts, cow's milk, seafood, and gluten, in Cenon, southwestern France, on June 29, 2021. Thibaud Moritz/AFP via Getty Images

A new study has revealed the number of people with a food allergy has more than doubled over a decade, from 0.4 percent of the population in 2008 to 1.2 percent in 2018.

Researchers at Imperial College, London, found the sharpest increase was in preschool-aged children, with 4 percent of under-5s having some form of food allergy in 2018, which is up from 1.2 percent in 2008.