2.2 Findings from Growing Up in Ireland Cohort 08 at age 3 years11F

Some key findings from Cohort 08 at age 3 years (Williams et al., 2013) relating to the

physical health of the study’s children are listed below:

12 Subsequent references to ‘Cohort 08 at 3’ relate to the Growing Up in Ireland study unless otherwise specified

•One-quarter of children were overweight or obese; 19% overweight and 6% obese. Differences in levels of overweight and obesity were identified according to social class; those from less advantaged families were more likely to be overweight or obese. No differences were observed according to gender.

•In terms of diet, parental education was strongly and positively associated with “healthy” food consumption, such as fruit and vegetables, and strongly and inversely related to consumption of energy-dense “unhealthy” foods such as crisps, chips and burgers, and non-diet fizzy drinks.

•Almost all 3-year-olds (98%) were described as very healthy or healthy by their parents. Worryingly, the social gradient in parental ratings of children’s health widened over time; there were no significant differences in children’s health at time of birth, but by three years of age children from the least advantaged social class backgrounds were significantly less likely to be rated as very healthy compared with children from more advantaged backgrounds.

•Almost 16% of 3-year-olds were reported by their parents as having a longstanding illness, disability or other ongoing health condition. Respiratory illnesses were the most commonly-reported illness type; 6% of the sample had received a doctor diagnosis of asthma. Boys were significantly more likely than girls to have a doctor-diagnosed chronic illness. Of those who had a chronic illness, 6% reported that they were severely limited in their daily activities by that condition (equal to 1% of the overall sample).

•The average rate of general practitioner (GP) consultations for 3-year-olds in Cohort 08 was 2.6 per year. Children with a full medical card were significantly more likely to consult a GP, even when controlling for children’s health status. The frequency of GP consultations was closely related to the level of household income; the highest rates were among those in the lowest income groups. A total of 16% of 3-year-olds had experienced an accident or injury that required hospital treatment or admission over their lifetime. Boys were more likely to have been injured than girls (18% vs 15%).

2.3 Topics from Comparable Studies