The disappeared children of El Salvador - a field study of truth, justice and reparation

During the Salvadoran armed conflict (1980-1992) hundreds of children became separated from their families. The majority of the children were abducted by the armed forces of the government and still to this day the fate and whereabouts of most children are unknown. These children are the ''disappeared children of El Salvador''. In 1994, families of the disappeared children formed an organisation, Pro-Búsqueda, which above all tries to locate the children. Investigations done by Pro-Búsqueda show that some of the children were given up for adoption and others grew up at institutions. When human rights violations occur, such as the enforced disappearance of minors, the state has certain obligations according to international and regional human rights law. From the general obligations of states to guarantee human rights and to provide victims with an effective remedy it can be concluded that the victims of the enforced disappearance of minors, which includes both the children and their families, should be afforded truth, justice and reparation. In this specific case what constitutes fair reparation is compensation for the pain and suffering, measures of rehabilitation and satisfaction, such as a public apology. Even in those cases where children were abducted by non-state agents, the Salvadoran state has an obligation to provide for access to truth, justice and reparation. The Salvadoran government has not adequately dealt with redressing the victims of the enforced disappearance of children. Instead, the politics of negation and impunity have been strong in El Salvador. This constitutes a breach of the obligations mentioned above, for which El Salvador can be held internationally responsible. The Inter-American has judged on the question of state responsibility in the Serrano Cruz case. However, this case does not have direct implications for the victims at the national level, except for putting pressure on the state to comply with international law. In order to justify the politics of negation the Salvadoran government claims that national reconciliation only can be achieved through ''forgiving and forgetting'' the past. The main reason for holding on to the politics of negation is that most of the disappeared children were abducted by organs acting on behalf of the state and recognising the rights of the victims could lead to stronger demands of prosecuting those responsible. As for the prospects of the victims to obtain truth, justice and reparation it can be concluded that a change in the Salvadoran government's attitude seems far away. The Serrano Cruz case could put some pressure on the state to act in accordance with international human rights law, but at the time of writing this thesis there are indications that it will not take much influence of the judgment. However, if the efforts of the civil society and the international community to bring on a change persist, it could lead to that the Salvadoran will take on its responsibilities in the future

Protein intake from 0 to 18 years of age and its relation to health: a systematic literature review for the 5th Nordic Nutrition Recommendations.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Files. This article is open access.The present systematic literature review is a part of the 5th revision of the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations. The aim was to assess the health effects of different levels of protein intake in infancy and childhood in a Nordic setting. The initial literature search resulted in 435 abstracts, and 219 papers were identified as potentially relevant. Full paper selection resulted in 37 quality-assessed papers (4A, 30B, and 3C). A complementary search found four additional papers (all graded B). The evidence was classified as convincing, probable, limited-suggestive, and limited-inconclusive. Higher protein intake in infancy and early childhood is convincingly associated with increased growth and higher body mass index in childhood. The first 2 years of life is likely most sensitive to high protein intake. Protein intake between 15 E% and 20 E% in early childhood has been associated with an increased risk of being overweight later in life, but the exact level of protein intake above which there is an increased risk for being overweight later in life is yet to be established. Increased intake of animal protein in childhood is probably related to earlier puberty. There was limited-suggestive evidence that intake of animal protein, especially from dairy, has a stronger association with growth than vegetable protein. The evidence was limited-suggestive for a positive association between total protein intake and bone mineral content and/or other bone variables in childhood and adolescence. Regarding other outcomes, there were too few published studies to enable any conclusions. In conclusion, the intake of protein among children in the Nordic countries is high and may contribute to increased risk of later obesity. The upper level of a healthy intake is yet to be firmly established. In the meantime, we suggest a mean intake of 15 E% as an upper limit of recommended intake at 12 months, as a higher intake may contribute to increased risk for later obesity.Nordic Council of Minister

Ensimmäinen kattava englanninkielinen kirja suomalaisesta kouluruokailusta

Kirja-arvostelu teoksesta: Seija Lintukangas & Päivi Palojoki. School Dining in Finland -  Learning and Well-Being. Porvoo: Bookwell, 101 s</p

Kallion friidusta maan äidiksi : Suomen tasavallan presidentti Tarja Halosen mediakuva suomalaisessa sanomalehdistössä

Only abstract. Paper copies of master’s theses are listed in the Helka database (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Electronic copies of master’s theses are either available as open access or only on thesis terminals in the Helsinki University Library.Vain tiivistelmä. Sidottujen gradujen saatavuuden voit tarkistaa Helka-tietokannasta (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Digitaaliset gradut voivat olla luettavissa avoimesti verkossa tai rajoitetusti kirjaston opinnäytekioskeilla.Endast sammandrag. Inbundna avhandlingar kan sökas i Helka-databasen (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Elektroniska kopior av avhandlingar finns antingen öppet på nätet eller endast tillgängliga i bibliotekets avhandlingsterminaler.Tutkin Suomen tasavallan presidentti Tarja Halosen mediakuvaa suomalaisessa sanomalehdistössä. Tutkimusaineistoni käsittää suurimmat sitoutumattomat päivälehdet (Helsingin Sanomat, Aamulehti, Keskisuomalainen, Savon Sanomat, Lapin Kansa), iltapäivälehdet (Ilta-Sanomat, Iltalehti) sekä suurimpien puolueiden äänenkannattajat (Demari, Suomenmaa, Kansan Uutiset, Nykypäivä, Vihreä Lanka) ajalta 1.3. – 31.8.2000. Tutkimuksen teoriaosuudessa tarkastelen presidentti-instituutiossa, poliittisessa viestintäkulttuurissa sekä journalistisissa käytänteissä tapahtuneita muutoksia. Tarkastelen myös teorioita imagonrakennuksesta. Analyysini alussa kerron tutkimusmenetelmistäni, joita ovat sisältö- ja diskurssianalyysi. Käyn myös lyhyesti läpi, mitä diskurssi, puhujat ja puhunta tarkoittavat. Varsinaisessa analyysissä haen vastausta tutkimusongelmaan vastaamalla kysymyksiin, mitä presidentti Halosesta lehdissä kirjoitetaan sekä miten hänestä kirjoitetaan. Kysymykseen, miten presidentistä kirjoitetaan haen vastausta tarkastelemalla artikkeleissa esiintyviä puhujia sekä näiden suhtautumista presidentti Haloseen. Analyysissä pohdin myös, mitä presidentin mediakuva kertoo presidentti-instituutiosta. Presidentti Halosen mediakuva on melko positiivinen. Suurin osa artikkeleissa esiintyneistä puhujista puhui positiiviseen sävyyn presidentistä. Artikkelit sisälsivät eniten presidentin työtä käsitteleviä artikkeleita. Tutkimuksessa kävi kuitenkin ilmi, että viihteellisten kirjoitusten määrä oli huomattava. Erityisesti kirjoitettiin presidentin luonteesta ja henkisestä persoonallisuudesta. Media oli myös kiinnostunut presidentin ulkoisesta olemuksesta sekä avoliitosta. Diskurssianalyysin avulla löysin teksteistä kaksi erilaista puhuntaa: presidentti aktiivisena poliittisena toimijana -puhunta sekä presidentti ulkoisena keulakuvana -puhunta. Puhunnat kuvastavat presidentti-instituutiossa, poliittisessa viestintäkulttuurissa ja journalistisissa käytänteissä tapahtuneista muutoksista, jotka heijastuivat mediateksteihin

Parental feeding practices and child eating behavior in different socioeconomic neighborhoods and their association with childhood weight : The STEPS study

Child obesity risk, child eating behavior and parental feeding practices show a graded association with individual level socioeconomic status. However, their associations with neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage are largely unknown. In this study (n = 682), we investigated how parental feeding practices and child eating behaviors were associated with body mass index and risk of overweight at preschool age in affluent and disadvantaged neighborhoods. We found that high food approach tendency in disadvantaged neighborhoods predicted higher body mass index and increased the risk of overweight at the age of 6 years compared with affluent neighborhoods. Our results suggest that children's eating habits may have stronger impact on overweight risk in disadvantaged than in affluent neighborhoods.Peer reviewe

Diet quality in preschool children and associations with individual eating behavior and neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage. The STEPS Study

A good quality diet in childhood is important for optimal growth as well as for long-term health. It is not well established how eating behaviors affect overall diet quality in childhood. Moreover, very few studies have considered the association of diet quality and a neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage in childhood. Our aim was to investigate how diet quality is associated with eating behaviors and neighborhood disadvantage and their interaction in preschool age children in Finland. The participants were from the Steps to Healthy Development Study at age 2 y (n = 780) and 5 y (n = 653). Diet quality was measured with a short questionnaire on habitual food consumption and eating behavior was assessed with the child eating behavior questionnaire to indicate the child's eating style regarding food approach and food avoidance dimensions. Information on neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage were obtained from the statistics Finland grid database. We found that diet quality was higher at 5 years compared to 2 years of age (p < 0.001). Food approach subscale, enjoyment of food, was positively associated with the diet quality (p < 0.001 for 2 and 5 y) while subscale desire to drink was negatively associated with the diet quality (p = 0.001 for 2 and 5 y). Food avoidance was negatively associated with the diet quality both at 2 and at 5 years of age (p < 0.001). A higher neighborhood disadvantage was negatively associated with the diet quality at the age of 2 years (p = 0.02), but not at the age of 5 years. Eating behavior had similar associations with diet quality both in affluent and deprived neighborhoods. Our results suggest that both the eating behavior and neighborhood disadvantage are, already in the early age, important factors when considering children's diet quality.Peer reviewe

Health behavior of working-aged Finns predicts self-reported life satisfaction in a population-based 9-years follow-up

Background Previous studies have shown positive association between health behavior and life satisfaction, but the studies have mostly been cross-sectional, had follow-up times up to 5 years or focused on only one health behavior domain. The aim of the study was to explore how principal health behavior domains predict life satisfaction as a composite score in a previously unexplored longitudinal setting. Methods The present study tested whether a health behavior sum score (range 0-4) comprising of dietary habits, smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity predicted subsequent composite score of life satisfaction (range 4-20). Data included responses from 11,000 working-age Finns who participated in the Health and Social Support (HeSSup) prospective population-based postal survey. Results Protective health behavior in 2003 predicted (p < .001) better life satisfaction 9 years later when sex, age, education, major diseases, and baseline life satisfaction were controlled for. The beta in the linear regression model was - 0.24 (p < .001) corresponding to a difference of 0.96 points in life satisfaction between individuals having the best and worst health behavior. Conclusion Good health behavior has a long-term beneficial impact on subsequent life satisfaction. This knowledge could strengthen the motivation for improvement of health behavior particularly on an individual level but also on a policy level.Peer reviewe

Subjective well-being predicts health behavior in a population-based 9-years follow-up of working-aged Finns

Publisher Copyright: © 2021The cross-sectional association between measures of subjective well-being (SWB) and various health behaviors is well-established. In this 9-year (2003–2012) follow-up study, we explored how a composite indicator of SWB (range 4–20) with four items (interest, happiness, and ease in life, as well as perceived loneliness) predicts a composite health behavior measure (range 0–4) including dietary habits, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and smoking status. Study subjects (n = 10,855) originated from a population-based random sample of working-age Finns in the Health and Social Support study (HeSSup). According to linear regression analysis, better SWB predicted better health behavior sum score with a β = 0.019 (p < 0.001) with a maximum effect of 0.3 points after adjusting for age (p = 0.038), gender (p < 0.001), education (p = 0.55), baseline self-reported diseases (p = 0.020), baseline health behavior (β = 0.49, p < 0.001), and the interaction between SWB and education (p < 0.001). The results suggest that SWB has long-term positive effect on health behavior. Thus, interventions aiming at health behavioral changes could benefit from taking into account SWB and its improvement in the intervention.Peer reviewe