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…
Tag: Development
Girls growing up – questions of early puberty
The early onset of puberty in girls has been linked with better bone health in older women, but it is also associated with a host of negative outcomes including teenage pregnancy and serious ill health in mid-life. With girls over the last few decades starting their periods earlier and earlier, this is a real cause…
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…
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…
Changing behaviour and mixed ethnicity
The number of mixed ethnicity children born in the UK is growing. Research to date has shown that coming from a mixed ethnicity as opposed to a non mixed background has no impact on the likelihood of a child having behaviour problems. But a new report from a team at the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies…
Are our children’s human rights equally protected?
It’s time to stop hitting our children and give them the same human rights protection afforded to adults says an important new report published by the NSPCC today. The report, which reviews all the available evidence on the impacts of physical punishment on children has been compiled by a team of academics at UCL: Dr Anja Heilmann,…
Can racism towards a mum hurt her children?
Racial discrimination affects people in a range of ways. We know, for instance, that it can lead to poor health. We know, too, that our lives are linked, particularly with those of family members. So, can racism suffered by a parent affect a child? Are the negative effects of social ills transmitted within families? If…
Stereotyped at 7?
Children from lower income families are less likely to be judged ‘above average’ by their teachers, even when they perform as well as other pupils on independent cognitive assessments, according to a new study. Researcher Tammy Campbell from the UCL Institute of Education talks to the Child of our Time Podcast Series about how teachers…
How racism hurts
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…
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…