News and opinion

Welcome to our news and blogs section. Here you’ll find the latest developments and insights from across our longitudinal studies.

Filter by

Choose a filter from each dropdown to narrow your search:

Intergenerational influences on physical activity

1 June 2016

This research project investigates the influence of work and family status on exercise and sedentary behaviour in childhood and adult life.

News

Why is there a social divide in child obesity rates?

18 May 2016

Smoking during pregnancy and being overweight before becoming pregnant account for around 40 per cent of the social divide in childhood obesity rates.

News

Private school education linked to better health more than 25 years later, study finds

11 May 2016

Private school pupils are more likely than their peers at comprehensives to have a lower body mass index (BMI) by the time they reach their early 40s. They also spend less time watching television and eat fewer take-away meals, according to new research published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

News

Social disadvantage may prevent boys from escaping child obesity, study finds

4 May 2016

Obese boys from the least advantaged neighbourhoods are significantly less likely to lose weight over the course of primary school than their peers in better-off areas, according to new research.

Alcohol use across the life course: links with health and wellbeing

1 April 2016

This research project uses evidence from all four of our cohort studies to investigate the short- and long-term health impacts of alcohol.

News

Children need more opportunities to get active in winter, new study finds

10 March 2016

Children are not active enough in the autumn and winter months, and spend too much time sitting indoors compared to other times of the year. According to researchers from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit and Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR) at the University of Cambridge children were most active during weekends […]

News

One in seven 11-year-olds have tried alcohol according to new study

9 March 2016

Researchers from University College London (UCL) and the London School of Economics have found that nearly 14% of 11-year-olds had drunk more than a few sips of alcohol at least once. Children whose mothers drank heavily were 80% more likely to drink than children whose mothers did not drink and boys were more likely to […]

News

The Life Project: Helen Pearson’s history of the UK’s birth cohort studies

22 February 2016

Author and journalist Helen Pearson tells the story of the UK birth cohort studies in her new book, The Life Project: The Extraordinary Story of Our Ordinary Lives. The studies, which follow people born in a single point in time throughout their lives, are tracking five generations of Britons, from the post-war baby boomers to […]

News

Timing of parental divorce influences health of children when they reach middle age

18 December 2015

Children who see their parents divorce before age 7 are more likely than those who experience it at a later age to report health problems in their fifties, according to a new study.

News

Poorer children nearly three times as likely to be obese, new study finds

11 December 2015

New findings from the Millennium Cohort Study have questioned why poorer children are at higher risk of obesity compared to their better-off peers.

Millennium Cohort Study Age 17 Survey: Consultative Conference

16 November 2015

An open consultative conference was held at the UCL Institute Of Education. It was open to all interested parties, including representatives of the MCS funders.

News

Children growing up without a garden more likely to be obese

16 September 2015

New research has found that young children with no access to a garden are far more likely to be overweight or obese by the time they reach seven.

Contact our communications team

Media enquiries

Ryan Bradshaw
Senior Communications Officer

Phone: 020 7612 6516
Email: r.bradshaw@ucl.ac.uk

Contact us

Centre for Longitudinal Studies
UCL Social Research Institute

20 Bedford Way
London WC1H 0AL

Email: clsdata@ucl.ac.uk

Follow us