Tag Archives: Children

Sugar-coating the childhood obesity problem

Child obesity figures appear to be on the rise again, causing much concern after earlier signs they had levelled off.  The proportion of  10- and 11-year-olds who were obese in 2015-16 was 19.8 percent, up 0.7 percent on the year before. There was a rise of 0.2 percent among four- and five-year-olds. The announcement comes as researchers at the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies at UCL have been looking in detail at how and when children become overweight. The team has also been asking whether children who are overweight are more likely to go on to smoke and drink alcohol and if their mental health suffers as they become adolescents. Yvonne Kelly explains the research findings, and considers their implications for the Government’s recent strategy for tackling the childhood obesity epidemic.

The Government’s much-awaited and much-debated childhood obesity strategy was published in August. In the end, it was less comprehensive than had been anticipated, less draconian too. It focuses on two things – reducing sugar consumption and increasing physical activity. But will it be effective in reversing this worrying obesity trend among our children?

It’s fair to say we don’t fully understand what things influence whether, when and why a child might become overweight. Research to date has shown three distinct weight pathways for children: a healthy BMI throughout childhood; becoming overweight during childhood and being overweight/obese throughout childhood.

Previous research has also shown that the child’s mother’s weight, smoking in pregnancy, mental health and other social and economic factors have some link to childhood obesity. But the evidence is far from complete and, where a child’s own mental health is concerned, it’s not at all clear which way the association works.

To try to get a clearer picture of all these things, our research looked at the BMI paths of the participants in the Millennium Cohort Study, which has tracked the lives of nearly 20,000 children born between 2000-2002. We used data collected at birth, 9 months, age 3, 5, 7 and 11.

Once we had established who was on which BMI path, we were able to look at what factors were at play in their lives and to see whether a tendency to overweight and obesity was an indication that a child would go on to face mental health difficulties in early adolescence or start smoking and drinking.

Four pathways to obesity

The BMI data for the 17,000 children we were able to look at for our study showed four distinct groups of children. More than 80 per cent of them stayed on an average non-overweight path throughout their childhood – we call it the ‘stable’ path. There was a small group (0.6 percent) of children who were obese at age 3 but were then in the stable group by age 7. We call them the the ‘decreasing’ group. There was a ‘moderate increasing group’ (13.1 percent) where children were not overweight at age 3 but whose BMIs increased throughout childhood into the overweight (but not obese) range. Finally we had a ‘high increasing’ group of children (2.5 percent) who were obese at age 3 and whose BMIs continued to increase.

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Girls were 30 percent more likely to be in the ‘moderate increasing’ group than boys and were half as likely to be on the ‘decreasing’ path. Indian, Pakistani and Black African children were up to two times more likely to be on the ‘moderate increasing’ path whilst Pakistani, Black Caribbean and Black African children were up to three times more likely to belong to the ‘high increasing’ group.

The wealthiest children were least likely to be in the ‘moderate increasing’ BMI group and children of mums who smoked during pregnancy were up to two times as likely to belong to increasing BMI groups. Children with overweight mums were most likely to be on the moderate and high increasing paths.

Children on the moderate and high increasing paths were less likely to have regular family routines – they were more likely to skip breakfast or have non-regular bedtime schedules. Interestingly, however, no strong links emerged with some of the things more readily linked with childhood obesity such as sugary drinks and snacks, watching TV and lack of physical activity such as sports, the main focus of the newly published childhood obesity strategy.

Overweight factors

So it seems quite a large range of factors influence the likelihood of a child becoming overweight or obese over the first decade of their life. On top of this, being overweight or obese would also seem to point to a less happy and fulfilling early adolescence and a tendency to explore risky behaviours like smoking and drinking.

Although our research did not show a clear link with sugary drinks and snacks, there are nevertheless some compelling arguments for reducing the sugar intake of our children. These are not only related to problems of obesity, but to wider issues including the major issue of tooth decay and associated emergency hospital admissions. There is also increasing evidence of the ‘addictive’ nature of sugar with research suggesting that it stimulates a sort of ‘reward path’ in certain centres of the brain meaning that the more we have the more we want. It has been shown that people who reduce their sugar intake tend to crave it less.

Where sugar taxes have been introduced in other countries (Mexico, France, Denmark, South Africa amongst others), the intervention has been shown to help reduce the consumption of sugary drinks. As yet, there is no evidence that it helps reduce BMI and tackle obesity, but it’s argued it will take time for us to see an effect on whole populations.

Disadvantaged families

It is hard to predict how much impact the voluntary rather than mandatory reduction in sugar content of drinks and snacks agreed in the strategy will have. As for the sugar tax that will be introduced in two years’ time, there remain concerns that disadvantaged families more likely to purchase and consume sugary goods than their better off counterparts will be hardest hit. Policy makers will need to think hard about how any negative consequences of this might be counteracted.

Our research shows clearly that when it comes to the likelihood of a child becoming overweight or obese in the first decade of their life, there are many more influences than just sugar. Those influences are at play in families even before our children are born.

Helping pregnant women to stop smoking and maintain a healthy weight, making sure all young children have healthy eating and sleeping routines would seem to be key, together with targeted support for the ethnic and social groups identified as being most at risk.

Further information and resources

BMI development and early adolescent psychosocial well-being: UK Millennium Cohort Study is research by Yvonne Kelly, Praveetha Patalay, Scott Montgomery, and Amanda Sacker. The work, published in Pediatrics, is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

Media coverage

Photo credit: Kim Stromstad

BMI development and early adolescent psychosocial well-being

Research looking at how and when children become overweight is helping to shed new light on ongoing efforts by the Government and others to tackle the childhood obesity epidemic.

A team of researchers at the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies at UCL has also been asking whether children who are overweight are more likely to go on to smoke and drink alcohol and if their mental health suffers as they become adolescents.

The research, published in Pediatrics, shows clearly that when it comes to the likelihood of a child becoming overweight or obese in the first decade of their life, there are many more influences than just sugar (a main plank in the Government’s Childhood Obesity Strategy).

The research also shows that  influences are at play in families even before children are born and indicates that helping pregnant women to stop smoking and maintain a healthy weight, making sure all young children have healthy eating and sleeping routines may be key, together with targeted support for ethnic and social groups identified as being most at risk.

Lead researcher, Yvonne Kelly presented the findings at the Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies 2016 conference in Bamberg.

Young drinkers: using evidence to prevent alcohol abuse

Research by Child of our Time Editor Yvonne Kelly on 11 year-old drinking has caught the eye of Mentor, a charity working to build resilience among young people to prevent alcohol and drug misuse. The charity’s CEO, Michael O’Toole is now looking to collaborate with Yvonne in future research that will take a look a first look at data from the Millennium Cohort Study in the Autumn. In this episode of the Child of our Time podcast, Michael explains what Mentor is doing, why research based evidence is so important to the charity and how he hopes it will help prevent alcohol abuse among young children in the future.

Photo credit: Joseph Choi

 

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Mixed race kids: happier than we might think!

It’s been said and shown over the last few decades that mixed race and mixed ethnicity children tend not to do as well socially and emotionally as their non mixed peers. But new research casts a rather different light on the matter, showing that children both in the UK and US who are from mixed backgrounds are actually doing rather better.  James Nazroo from the University of Manchester has been looking at the issue with colleagues at the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies, UCL and discusses his surprising findings in our latest podcast episode.

Socioemotional wellbeing among mixed race/ethnicity children in the UK and US: Patterns and underlying mechanisms is due to be published in the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour. It is part of a wider programme of ESRC funded research led by Child of Our Time editor, Yvonne Kelly at ICLS.

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Born in Bradford

Born in Bradford is a fascinating child health development project following the lives of thousands of children in the city. It hopes to find out more about the causes of childhood illness by studying children from all cultures and backgrounds as their lives unfold.

In this Child of our Time Podcast episode, one of the project’s lead researchers, Professor Kate Pickett from the University of York, explains more about the study, what’s in it that researchers can use, what  it’s found so far and what we can expect to come out of it in the future.

Photo credit: Tim Green

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A bedtime story

Reading is key to giving children the best possible start in life. That’s what Child of our Time Editor Professor Yvonne Kelly will be telling representatives of the Swedish Government and European Commission today when she delivers the key note presentation at a seminar highlighting the importance and benefits of early interventions in children’s lives.

The seminar in Brussels has been organised by the City of Gothenburg in Sweden as part of its efforts to achieve the political goal of becoming an equal city and of its commitment to reduce inequalities.

Yvonne will be sharing research by herself and colleagues at the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies looking at factors associated with children’s poor verbal skills and behaviour problems. The research shows the links between regular bedtimes and reading with children and better outcomes for them in terms of behaviour and how well they get on at school.

Organisers of the event hope their efforts will encourage other cities in Europe to join them in their ambition to create health equality and a good start in life for all.

Photo credit: Lars Plougmann

Racism, mixed race and child health

Child of Our Time Editor, Professor Yvonne Kelly has been outlining the impacts of racism on the health and development of children in her keynote talk at a workshop hosted by the Institute for Economic Analysis of Decision Making.

Professor Kelly, who is based at the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies at UCL, has led a major programme of research looking at the role that ethnicity plays in disparities in child health and behaviour and she and her team have published a range of research from the project.

In today’s talk, she shared some of the key findings from the research around the different outcomes for children from various ethnic backgrounds, including their:

  • birthweight
  • physical development
  • obesity
  • early onset of puberty
  • mother and teacher reports of challenging behaviour
  • verbal skills

The talk also covered the frequency of racist attacks on different groups and their impact on children’s physical and mental health. Brand new research focusing specifically on mixed ethnicity children and their behaviour was also included.

Professor Kelly commented:

“Our research shows clearly that direct and indirect experiences of racism can negatively influence a child’s development and health – whether it be via their access to resources tor the increased likelihood that they will take up unhealthy behaviours.”

She added:

“It’s never too late to prevent disease in childhood or later years. Our research shows that racism is a key consideration for all those seeking to achieve that; policy makers, practitioners and the wider public alike.”

 

 

We know enough now to stop hitting our children

Despite a steady decline in recent decades, the physical punishment of children remains common in British homes. The UK is one of only five countries in the European Union which has not committed to outlawing all physical punishment. British children have less protection from physical violence than adults – a clear violation of international human rights law. And, as a new study commissioned by a group of children’s charities shows, there’s ample evidence physical punishment can damage children and escalate into physical abuse. Author of the report, Dr Anja Heilmann from University College London makes the case for urgent action:

Sadly, it’s only the most extreme forms of child maltreatment that have dominated the headlines in recent years. As far as the media is concerned, there is a dearth of in-depth coverage of the issue of physical punishment, whilst UK governments have not implemented the kind of legal reform that has been happening in countries across the world.

Though there are variations between the nations of the UK, broadly all allow a defence of ‘reasonable punishment’ to a parent accused of lesser physical assault of a child in their care. In Scotland, the defence is one of ‘justifiable assault’.

In 2008, the Scottish Government said :

‘the current position ensures that the law gives children sufficient protection without unnecessarily criminalising parents who lightly smack their child.’

This position, however, is at odds with the substantial evidence base.

Much new research

Internationally, the past decade has seen a surge in the number of studies on the prevalence and outcomes of the physical punishment of children. The most recent substantial review in the UK was a 2008 study in Northern Ireland.

Our aim was to summarise the evidence that has become available since then. To do this we reviewed relevant studies published in English between January 2005 and June 2015. For a definition of physical punishment we used that provided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child:

‘Corporal’ or ‘physical’ punishment is any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light.’     

We defined a ‘child’ as anyone under 18. Our initial search yielded more than 1500 returns. We narrowed these down to 98 for in-depth review.

Clear evidence of negative effects

The good news is that the physical punishment of children is in decline. One study found that in 1998 in the UK, 61% of young adults reported having been smacked as a child, while in 2009 this was true for 43%.

Public attitudes have also shifted with the use of physical punishment becoming less and less acceptable and a higher proportion of parents doubting its usefulness.

On a less positive note, we found clear evidence of physical punishment continuing to lead to serious negative outcomes for the child. Four-fifths of the relevant studies found physical punishment was related to increased aggression, delinquency and other anti-social behaviour.

One study in Scotland found that children who had been smacked during their first two years of life were more than twice as likely to have emotional and behavioural problems at age 4 than children who had not been smacked. There was evidence that the more physical punishment suffered by a child, the worse the subsequent problem behaviour.

The evidence suggests that physical punishment is still harmful even when administered in a generally loving and positive family environment – the “loving smack” might be a myth. In addition, all studies that tested it found a link between physical punishment and more serious child maltreatment.

The negative effects continue into adulthood. Again, four out of five relevant studies suggest a link between childhood physical punishment and adult aggression and antisocial behaviour. One large study in the US found that participants who had been physically punished as children were 60% more likely to suffer alcohol or drug dependence.

Legislate and communicate

Though the UK is in a minority in allowing physical punishment, it is not alone. We also looked at five European countries with varying legislative regimes. In all we found a large and growing majority of parents striving to rear their children without physical punishment.

Those countries which had both legislated to give children equal protection against assault and promoted intensive, long-term campaigns of public education had been more effective in changing attitudes and behaviours than those which had pursued either strategy alone.

The international approach to children’s rights is clear: they should be equal to those of adults. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that all steps to protect children from physical violence should be taken, has been ratified by the UK. And the UK’s continuing failure to explicitly prohibit all corporal punishment in the home has been criticised by the committee that monitors implementation of the Convention.

Act now

“Further research needed” is often one recommendation coming out of a study like this. And there is still a need to know more, for instance, about the efficacy of measures to reduce the incidence of childhood physical punishment.

But no more research is needed to tell us that physical punishment has the potential to damage children and carries the risk of escalation into physical abuse. Our conclusions only reinforce the findings of the 2008 Northern Ireland study.

We need legislation now. And legislation backed up by a large-scale information and awareness campaign.

Equally Protected? A review of the evidence on the physical punishment of children by Dr Anja Heilmann, Professor Yvonne Kelly and Professor Richard G Watt was commissioned by NSPCC Scotland, CHILDREN 1st, Barnardo’s Scotland and the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland.

Photo credit: ellyn.

 

Reporting children’s challenging behaviour

When it comes to dealing with children’s problem behaviour, do parents and teachers report the same things in the same way and is that linked in some way to the child’s race or ethnicity ? That’s the focus of a recent study by a cross Atlantic team of researchers from the University of Michigan and University College London. Professor Pamela Davis-Kean from the  University of Michigan talked to Child of our Time about the research.

Reports of Externalizing Behavior: Comparative Analyses between the UK and US is research by Rebecca Waller, Afshin Zilanawala, Sheryl Olson, Amanda Sacker, Meichu Chen, Sharon Simonton,  James Nazroo, Yvonne Kelly, James S. Jackson, Pamela Davis-Kean.

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Bringing up Britain and bedtimes

Can what time a child goes to bed affect how they get on at school was one of the topics under discussion in the first of BBC Radio 4’s Bringing up Britain series, which this week considered whether and how it is possible to boost a child’s IQ. The programme featured research by Child of Our Time Editor, Professor Yvonne Kelly into whether the time a child goes to bed has any influence on their reading and maths ability and spatial awareness.

Presenter Mariella Frostrup and a panel of experts discussed a range of research and views about the role of parenting on intelligence – from the effect of exercise and diet to the difference can breastfeeding, flashcards, violin lessons and superfoods really make.

When it came to looking at the effect of bedtimes, the programme interviewed Professor Kelly, who talked them through findings from her recent work looking at the effects of regular and irregular bedtimes and some 10,000 children in the Millennium Cohort Study.

Speaking on the programme, she explained that that children with irregular bedtimes did not do so well as their counterparts with more regular bedtimes and that the difference was “not trivial”, equating to a difference of around 2-3 IQ points.

The research has also looked at the effects of irregular bedtimes on children’s behaviour as well as how well they are getting on.

If you are interested in finding out more about how the bedtimes research was carried out, you  can listen to Yvonne Kelly in one of our Child of our Time Research Talks here on the blog.

Photo credit: Lars Plougmann