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…
Author: Christine Garrington
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…
What teenage girls eat
Teenage girls have the poorest diets of all according to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey with less than one in ten girls eating the recommended five-a-day fruit and vegetables. At an ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies Policy Seminar, researcher Laura Weston presents preliminary evidence from NatCen Social Research on adolescent girls’ nutrient intake and the…
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…
What are the links between ethnicity and mental health?
What are the links between ethnicity and mental health? Do children aged 7 from certain ethnic backgrounds exhibit more socio-emotional difficulties than their white counterparts? Afshin Zilanawala from the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies at UCL talks to Christine Garrington about new findings from the Millennium Cohort Study. Ethnic Differences in Children’s Socioemotional Difficulties: Findings from…