Three compelling short films showing the devastating impact of racism on the health and development of children and adults have been published as part of a project funded by the University of Manchester. The videos, which use performance poetry and film to share the findings from important recent research, are a collaboration between performance poet, Yusra Warsama, researcher, Laia…
Tag: Children’s Health
Are children becoming obese earlier?
Are children becoming obese at a younger age compared with the generations before them? New evidence from a research team at CLOSER, making use of the UK’s Cohort Studies, indicates they are. One of the team, Professor Rebecca Hardy from UCL, spoke to Child of our Time about the research. How has the age-related process of…
Ethnicity, birthweight and growth in early childhood
Birthweight varies according to ethnic group but height at the age of five does not. Why might that be? Does it tell us anything about the lives of second and third generation immigrants? And does it offer any useful guidance to health professionals hoping to target disadvantaged groups? Professor Yvonne Kelly outlines recent research with…
Breastfeeding and ethnicity
Helping more mothers breastfeed is a policy goal shared by many governments. Advocates argue that breastfeeding has a positive impact on a child’s physical, cognitive and behavioural development. Because of overlaps with other factors such as a mother’s social class or education, it is hard to measure precisely the degree to which breastfeeding alone benefits…
How well are the kids talking? Ethnic differences in children’s verbal abilities
How well our kids are doing is important to us all. The better they are doing early on in life, the better they’re likely to be doing further down the line as they grow into teenagers and adults. The earlier we can get to grips with any disadvantages or inequalities faced by individuals and groups of…
Get up, get out, get active!
Just what are the long term effects of being a couch potato as a youngster? New research using the 1970 British Cohort Study shows we may reap what we sow if we don’t switch off the television or the Playstation and get ourselves and our kids off the couch and active. Dr Mark Hamer from UCL…
Middle-aged couch potatoes ‘planted’ 30 years earlier
Parents should routinely switch off the TV and take young children out for a walk or some other exercise in order to increase their chances of growing up to be fit, healthy adults, new research suggests. And if it isn’t feasible to go outside, children could perhaps be encouraged to play interactive video games that…
Can a child’s ethnicity tell us something about asthma?
Asthma and wheezing illness are some of the most common childhood illnesses, and appear to have been on the rise in many developed countries. In the ongoing battle against them, considerable research has looked at the links with the surroundings we live in. From the effects of cold weather to dusty homes and living in polluted…
Breastfeeding – to a schedule or on demand?
Mums-to-be are frequently advised in baby books that feeding to a schedule is best for their child. But what does the evidence tell us when it comes to the different approaches and what might that mean for parents, practitioners and policy makers? Dr Maria Iacovou from the University of Cambridge presents recent evidence breastfeeding research at an ESRC Centre…
Alcohol and adolescence: who’s drinking age 11?
Who is drinking alcohol at age 11? And what are the links with parents’ and friends drinking habits? See the slides and listen to Professor Yvonne Kelly talk at an ESRC Centre for Lifecourse Studies Policy Seminar about her research, Alcohol and adolescence: exploratory drinking in 11 year-olds, which makes use of data from the…