Objective The aim of this study was to show the rate of childhood obesity in 10 – 11 year old Maltese children attending year 6 in local primary schools in and to investigate whether a correlation exists between body mass index (BMI) and activity, screen-time, soft drinks consumption and sleep patterns in a cohort of Maltese children. Methods 103 boys and girls (47% and 53% respectively; mean age 10.4 years) were sampled from four different primary schools serviced by the state, Church and independent entities. The students’ height and weight were measured to determine their BMI. A questionnaire which dealt with the four areas under study was then distributed to all the participants. Data was analysed to determine whether the correlations under investigation were present. Results A negative correlation was found between BMI and (i) the number of different physical activities the students engaged in weekly, (ii) the average number of times that the students carried out these physical activities per week and (iii) the average number of hours of sleep per night reported by the children. A positive correlation was found between BMI and sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption. There seems to be no correlation between BMI and the different number of forms of screen-time the students engaged in or the total number of hours of screen-time although descriptive data shows that both factors increase with increasing BMI. 46 | P a g e Conclusion Similar studies on a larger cohort of participants should be considered in the future. The effect of involving parents, educators, general practitioners, paediatricians and other health care providers in the fight against childhood obesity should also be the primary focus of other studies.

Introduction This research aimed to provide local statistics in the area of food hypersensitivity in the paediatric population, as the prevalence of such allergic and non-allergic food hypersensitivity (intolerance) to food in Malta at the present time is previously undocumented. The main food which causes hypersensitivity in the population under study has been identified and compared to the main causes of hypersensitivity in other countries. Method Between January and March 2015, every school in Malta which includes Year 1 children (5-to 6-yr-olds) (N=83 schools) was invited to participate in this research study. Participant schools (n=42) were then provided with a questionnaire to be distributed to those parents who had previously reported food related hypersensitivity to the school through the health information sheet. Results The point prevalence for food hypersensitivity in the 5-to 6-yr-old participant population in the study was found to be 2.5%. Of the foods causing hypersensitivity in the studied group, milk and milk products were the main causes, affecting 38.9% and 30.6% of participant children respectively, followed by tree nuts (22.2%). 7 Conclusion The 2.5% point prevalence of Year 1 5-to 6-yr old children with food hypersensitivity, indicates the level of action required on allergic and non-allergic food hypersensitivity in Malta. This includes the need for school policy guidelines on food hypersensitivity. Such local statistics also indicate that the Health Department needs to direct attention to this field. This could possibly include the set-up of a state clinic that holistically assists all patients with heightened reaction to food.

Childhood obesity has risen to epidemic proportions in recent times. Childhood (5-12 years) is a key period in the primary prevention of obesity and supplementary conditions linked with a sedentary lifestyle. This paper discusses the importance of physical fitness and activity in children and highlights the health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle. Physical activity recommendations are discussed and research on the activity levels of Irish children is examined. Schools are seen as one of the core agents for the delivery of interventions to combat the obesity epidemic in children. A review of the literature is discussed on fitness and physical activity promotion strategies researched in the school environment. School break-time is highlighted as a fundamental element in the promotion of school-based physical activity and fitness. Break-time strategies and interventions are reviewed. A gap in the literature is exposed on the lack of research investigating the ability of more permanent playground changes to influence physical activity and particularly fitness levels in children during break-time, highlighting the need of further research.

This study used focus groups and a questionnaire to determine the perceived health needs of a population of secondary school pupils and therefore provide a focus for the role of the school nurse. The participants for two focus groups were drawn from separate school years and the data used to inform the design of, and results from, a questionnaire. The questionnaire was self-completed by a cross sectional cluster sample of 247 students. Results from the questionnaire were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). This study found that the main health concerns centred on mental health issues, risk taking behaviours, especially drunkenness, and support with medical conditions. Most students indicated a significant role for the school nurse in addressing their health needs and principally requested individual support closely followed by the provision of information within a class setting. Some gender differences were highlighted. The results provided a clear focus for a needs-led re-design of the provision of school nursing services to the students within the school and defined a distinct role for the school nurse.

Physical inactivity among children has both immediate and long term health consequences. Recommended guidelines state that children should engage in at least 60 minutes of at least moderate physical activity each day to promote and maintain health. The main purpose of this study was to determine the proportion of 10-11 year old children who were engaging in sufficient physical activity to meet the recommended levels throughout the school week. This study also aimed to determine differences by day, to examine the contexts in which children were achieving their activity and to investigate gender differences. Fifty three 10-11 year olds (18 boys, 35 girls) completed activity diaries each day for one week during the school term. Activities were recorded for the whole of the waking day and intensity assigned to one of four levels, very light, light, moderate or vigorous. The contexts in which the activities took place were categorised as, school based clubs, school based free play, home based clubs or home based free play. Paired t tests, independent t tests, cross tabulation and Chi square tests were conducted to determine differences by day, by activity category, and by gender. The proportions meeting recommended levels varied from 64.2% on Sunday to 83.0% on Thursday. Lower proportions met recommended levels per weekend day, 70.8% than per school day, 78.5%. Significantly (P < 0.05) more time was spent in free play than organised activities. The proportion of total daily moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) from free play was 74.2% on school days and 81.4% on weekends. Out of school activities were significantly (P < 0.05) greater than in school activities, accounting for 62.1% of total daily MVPA. The proportion of boys achieving recommended levels was greater than the proportion of girls on each day of the week, the differences between the genders being significant (P < 0.05) on Saturday and Sunday. Boys engaged in more free time activity than girls both on school days and weekend days, with in school free time and weekend day free time activity being significantly (P < 0.05) greater. Girls engaged in more organised activities than boys on school days and weekend days but not significantly (P < 0.05). On each day of the week a proportion of children did not meet recommended activity levels to benefit health. Activity levels differed by day, gender and context. Both boys and girls achieved more of their MVPA from free play than from organised activities both in and out of school. Initiatives which focus on improving the time and facilities available to children to enable them to participate in safe free play may be effective in increasing health enhancing physical activity.

Current legislation and statutory guidance relating to those identified as having special educational needs (SEN), emphasises the importance of the involvement of children and young people and their families in matters affecting their educational experiences. Due to the heterogeneity of SEN and associated communication difficulties in particular, there may be challenges in successfully eliciting the views of children and young people as part of the annual educational review process. For this study, 61 parent/carer participants from across England responded to an online questionnaire. This was designed firstly to see whether communication methods were differentiated according to the child’s usual or preferred style of communicating, and secondly whether person-centred approaches to facilitate the child’s participation and inclusion had been adopted as part of the process. Correlation analysis found very little evidence of communication methods being differentiated according to usual preferences although there was some evidence of different methods being used during reviews. Further analysis found some evidence that adopting person-centred approaches to educational reviews had a positive effect on overall outcomes for children and young people. It is suggested that future research could seek to capture the perspectives, not only of parents/carers but also of educational practitioners and the children themselves to allow for greater exploration of some of the issues arising in this paper.

Children in contemporary society are an important and lucrative consumer segment (Haryanto, Moutinho, & Coelho, 2016). They have both individual spending power, and significant influence over the purchase decisions of their parents and carers (Calvert, 2008). Brands have recognised the business benefits of engaging with consumers at an early age in order to develop profitable lifelong consumer relationships (Hamelin, Gbadamosi, & Peters, 2018) Developments in online communications, especially since the emergence of Web 2.0, has enabled businesses to build a presence in an interactive and co-creative online environment (Ryan, 2014). In the UK, consumer use of interactive technologies is pervasive. Smartphone penetration in the UK in 2016 was 81 per cent (Deloitte, 2016). The Consumerisation of ICT is particularly visible in children, born since 2000 who have grown up in the interactive era of Web 2.0 (Carter, Bennett Thatcher, Applefield, & McAlpine, 2011). 99 per cent of UK families have internet access in their home (ONS, 2016) and 83 per cent of 5 to 15 year olds have access to a mobile ICT device in their household. It is estimated that one third of all online users are below the age of 18 (Livingstone, Carr, & Byrne, 2016). Young consumers therefore have access multiple channels for communication and engagement with peers, family, and businesses. At a time when children have become proficient navigators of the online marketplace there is a real importance for marketers to understand how to communicate effectively with this segment (Thiachon, 2017). Children have been recognised as a distinguishable consumer segment since the mid-twentieth century. The study of children’s consumer socialisation emerged during the 1970s (Roedder John, 1999). In the years following, academic understanding of consumer socialisation has influenced government policy in areas of public health and child welfare, as well as influencing the self-regulation of marketing and advertising practice (Jordan, 2008). The body of existing research is predominantly focused on these areas rather than how marketers can effectively communicate with young consumers. Studies that do focus on marketing communications have done so by examining practices in relation to brand loyalty and trust (Haryanto, Manuela, & Moutinho, 2015 ; Haryanto, Moutinho, & Arnaldo, 2016). Although they provide recommendations that highlight the importance of these concepts in developing communications with young consumers, they do not identify the types of approaches to employ in order to achieve these relationships with consumers. As public policy concerns provided the impetus for research in this area, it is unsurprising that there is a concentration of research investigating the influence of marketing communications on young consumers within the context of public health. Children in this context are positioned passive and vulnerable members of society (Haefner, 1975; Roedder John, 1999; Calvert, 2008; Sramová & Pavelka, 2017). Although this approach is valid and provides valuable insights, academic understanding of young consumers would be limited if research was generated only from this perspective. This study will aim to address this gap in understanding, acknowledging that children have expanded their roles within the family as purchase influencers and independent purchase decision makers. The research will examine current Digital Marketing Communication (DMC) practices employed by brands whose products are aimed at young consumers. For the purposes of providing research focus, children are defined as individuals aged 17 and under.

Recent reports detail the growing concern of mental health difficulties among children and adolescents (DfES 2001, NAfW Everybody's Business, 2001). Schools are considered an ideal location for the prevention, early identification and treatment of children's difficulties. Increasingly schools are using counsellors to help work with children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. However, there is limited information around the effectiveness of school-based interventions. The PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies), (Greenberg & Kusche, 1994) Curriculum is a comprehensive programme for promoting emotional and social competencies and reducing aggression and behaviour problems in primary school-aged children. Designed to be delivered by class teachers to primary school aged children, evaluations have demonstrated significant improvements in children's emotional and behavioural development on a variety of sites in America but to date, to the author's knowledge, there is no published research in the UK. This study examines the short-term effectiveness of the PATHS curriculum as perceived by the child's class teacher. The study is a pre and post intervention study comprising of 5 schools, 13 teachers and 313 children. The authors of PATHS advise delivery of the programme to be at least 2-3 times per week, throughout the child's primary school education. The majority of the teachers in this study were only able to deliver the programme once a week, and the intervention period was brief, (October 2001- July 2002). However, despite these limitations, the findings indicate improvements on teacher ratings of emotional awareness, behavioural difficulties, peer relationships and children's self esteem. The results are discussed in terms of the efficacy of the measures, the limitations of the study and the implications for teachers, counsellors and future research.

Children’s performance on working memory tests improves with age, although the reasons for this development are not well understood. Furthermore, the concept of enjoyment of task has received little attention. The aim of this study was to examine a novel tool, ‘Unpacking the Box’, which has been designed by the charity ‘Triangle’ to assess working memory in a friendly and enjoyable way. Children were tested using four measures; a digit span task, a Corsi block task, a listening span task and a task using the novel resource ‘Unpacking the Box’. A 3x2 between-subjects design was employed with primary children aged six, seven and eight years old. A 3x2 within subjects Anova revealed a significant main effect of age on performance of ‘Unpacking the Box’, with the greatest differences between six and seven year olds and six and eight year olds. Non-parametric analyses revealed high levels of enjoyment with the novel tool ‘Unpacking the Box’. The tool is currently used to work with victims who are giving evidence in court. This study demonstrated that the novel resource is a highly effective, practical, enjoyable and engaging method for assessing working memory in children. As such, there are many possibilities for the future development of ‘Unpacking the Box’ for use in educational and clinical settings.

The consequences of a poor quality diet are slow to develop and easy to ignore, however, the impact on the health of communities as a whole is great (Lean, 2015). With the current upward trend in obesity, especially in children, this review looks into a variety of food labelling systems in order to determine their influence on consumers’ eating habits. The food labelling systems currently in place are only partially effective, with some seeming to demonstrate complete operational failure, therefore more research is needed in order to understand the cognitive processes used by consumers when making decisions using food labels. As a commonly consumed product which varies widely in nutritional content, and displays an array of different types of labelling information, breakfast cereal could benefit from further research into how the different food labelling systems are used and understood by consumers.