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More than 1,000 people across the UK with suspected dementia are to be offered a blood test for Alzheimer’s disease which it is hoped could revolutionise diagnosis of the disease.

The blood test can detect biomarkers for rogue proteins which accumulate in the brains of patients with the condition and will be used in addition to pen and paper cognitive tests, which often misdiagnose it in its early stages.

Scientists leading the trial at University College London believe the blood test will improve the accuracy of diagnosis from 70% to more than 90% and want to see how that helps patients and clinicians.

Patients will be recruited at 20 memory clinics as part of the study, which aims to see how well the test works within the NHS.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and is associated with the build-up in the brain of two rogue proteins – amyloid and tau – which can accumulate for up to 20 years before symptoms emerge.

The new blood test, which costs around £100, measures a biomarker called p-tau217, which reflects the presence of both proteins.

Previously, the only way to confirm Alzheimer’s was by specialist PET brain scans and lumbar punctures to extract cerebrospinal fluid.

However, these “gold standard” tests are not part of routine Alzheimer’s diagnosis and only 2% of patients ever receive them.

Professor Fiona Carragher, chief policy and research officer at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Our recent Lived Experience Survey revealed that only a third of people with dementia felt their experience of the diagnosis process was positive, while many reported being afraid of receiving a diagnosis.

“As a result, too often, dementia is diagnosed late, limiting access to support, treatment and opportunities to plan ahead.”

Now, the Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis and Plasma p-tau217 (ADAPT) trial has begun recruitment at a memory clinic in Essex, with 19 additional specialist NHS centres planned to be involved across the UK.

The study is being led by scientists at University College London, and is supported by Alzheimer’s Research UK, the Alzheimer’s Society, with funding from the People’s Postcode Lottery.

Jonathan Schott, professor of neurology at University College London and chief medical officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK said he was “thrilled” to welcome participants onto the ADAPT trial.

He described the trial as “a critical part of the Blood Biomarker Challenge, which we hope will take us a step forward in revolutionising the way we diagnose dementia.”

Half the participants in the study will receive their blood tests results within three months while the others will be told after 12 months.

The study team will establish whether providing results earlier helps speed up diagnosis, guides decisions about further investigations, and influences how both patients and doctors interpret and respond to the results.

The impact of blood test results on quality of life will also be measured.

If the trial is deemed successful, the blood test could become a standard part of Alzheimer’s diagnosis. This will be crucial in years to come as a raft of new drugs to combat early-stage disease are in the final stages of clinical trials.

Steven Pidwell, 71, from north London, says an accurate, rapid blood test for Alzheimer’s, combined with new treatments, would be a “gamechanger” for families affected by the condition.

His partner of more than 50 years, Rachel Hawley, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease almost a decade ago.

Steven told the BBC: “I think it would mean everybody’s idea of Alzheimer’s would change. We would treat Alzheimer’s more like having a disability, rather than sort of a curse, and something we can’t talk about.”

A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s can be devastating but the couple say they refuse to let the disease spoil their time together.

Rachel, 72, said: “I think I still have a very happy life, and am very lucky in all sorts of ways.”

The couple were part of a group of patients with lived experience of Alzheimer’s, who helped researchers at UCL design the trial and the feedback to potential volunteers.

The team at UCL expect to have results in around three years.

It’s lunchtime in the leafy grounds of the Kairos School of Enquiry in Randburg, South Africa.

Dozens of children line up excitedly in front of a table laden with large pots of fresh, hot food.

“Today on the menu we have Kitchari: a mix of daal and rice, with tomato chutney, halloumi and salad,” the school cook says, as she serves the students.

The school decided to introduce a mainly vegetarian food policy as part of an effort to buck a worrying global trend: for the first time, the number of overweight children has overtaken the number of underweight ones.

The UN says the number of overweight and obese teenagers around the world has nearly tripled in the last two decades.

And the number of overweight children aged five to nine years old has increased from 69 million to 147 million.

Parents at Kairos have been asked to pack only whole foods in their children’s lunchboxes.

Headteacher Marc Loon believes the policy has provided an opportunity to teach students about the importance of healthy eating.

“If all schools were to emulate our intention of being thoughtful and conscious of what children are putting into their bodies… the health of the children would be served,” he said.

The growing popularity of convenience food in the developing world is partly responsible for the growth in obesity rates amongst children, according to Unicef.

Trainee lawyer Mamkhabela Mthembu, 23, told the BBC that when she was younger fast food was a treat.

“I grew up with my grandmother and not in the best circumstances,” she says. “Junk food was something that we looked up to because my granny didn’t always have money, so it was a token of celebration.”

Because of this, she says she never thought of junk food as unhealthy. Instead, it became aspirational.

But that changed when she moved to Pretoria aged 19 for university, where her student residence was on top of a fast food restaurant.

With a busy schedule, she says she found herself choosing convenience food over cooking – and it’s had a lasting impact on her health.

“Now I am overweight, it’s something that I’m not proud of,” she says. “I had bleeding gums as a child from eating too many sweets which I still have today. I’m starting to have breathing problems.”

Her struggles led her to become an advocate for Unicef in her spare time. She wants more students to be aware of the damage fast food can have on their health.

Poor and middle income countries have seen the greatest surge in overweight and obese children.

But whereas in poorer countries overweight children tend to be from wealthier families who can pay for high-calorie foods, in middle income economies like South Africa more people can afford to go to fast food restaurants.

It has led to an explosion in the number of chains across the country. The South African fast food market was valued at $2.7bn in 2018 and is expected to reach $4.9bn by 2026.

Unicef says more needs to be done to stop these companies from marketing to children and young people.

“Previously, we would always blame an individual for not exercising enough, or not eating healthily,” says Gilbert Tshitaudzi, Unicef South Africa’s nutrition manager.

“But we know now that that is not really the case. How do you expect an individual to live a healthier lifestyle if their environment does not enable them to do that?”

He says they have advised the South African government to restrict the marketing of unhealthy food to children.

The constant presence of convenience food is an additional challenge for parents who wish to keep their children healthy.

Memory Padi’s eight-year-old daughter, Sophia, was diagnosed with rare autoimmune disease ADEM (Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis) when she was 18 months old.

Sophia was given steroids shots to help with her symptoms but her mum believes they led her weight to balloon. She now weighs 107kg.

“Her dietitians can see that this is not about food. They say she eats normally,” she says.

Memory has put her daughter on a low carb diet, but still struggles to maintain her weight.

Supporters have set up social media pages to raise money for Sophia. Although Memory says she can’t afford fast food, well-wishers will sometimes buy it for her daughter as a treat.

“We rarely go out, but when we do, she sometimes asks for fast food. She’s a child, so she wants these things.”

Memory is currently unemployed and struggles to provide her daughter with the support she needs, including swimming lessons.

She sometimes takes Sophia for walks around their neighbourhood in Alexandra, a township near Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, but the traffic and stares make her uncomfortable.

The South African government introduced higher taxes on sugary drinks in 2018.

But it hasn’t stopped the growing obesity rate in children: 22% of children under five are overweight or obese in South Africa, up from 13% in 2016.

Unicef says countries need to improve access to local, nutritious food for children and teenagers.

“South Africa is known to be food-secure,” says Mr Tshitaudzi. “But many households don’t have money to access healthier options because of our high unemployment rate.”

Back at the Kairos School, it’s break time. Children eat from lunchboxes filled with fruits, vegetables and sandwiches made from wholewheat bread.

Until governments are able to implement policies that can reverse the surge in childhood obesity, it’s left to institutions and individuals to safeguard the health of future generations.