Comparison of body mass index of a national cohort of Maltese children over a 3-year interval

Aims: To compare body mass index (BMI) at 7 years and at 9 years of age in a national cohort of children in Malta, born in 2001, and to compare the results with an earlier study carried out in 2007 in this same cohort. Methods: BMI measurement of all children in the second year of formal school and again in the fourth year. Results: In 2008, data was collected from a total of 3435 children (girls 48.9%, boys 51.1%) with a mean age of 6.8 years. The same procedure was carried out in 2010 on the same cohort of children. A total of 3090 children participated in the second round of data collection (girls 49.5%, boys 50.5%). Based on WHO criteria (using the 2007 WHO Child Growth Reference BMI-for-age 5-19 charts), over a quarter of Maltese children aged 7 years were found to be overweight or obese in 2008. This proportion rose to just over 40% when the same cohort was measured in 2010 at the age of 9 years. A significant prevalence of overweight and obese boys was found in Gozo for both studies. Children attending Independent (fee-paying) schools were the least overweight and obese. Discussion: Obesity in childhood in Malta is increasing despite efforts to curb this disease. More emphasis must be made on prevention strategy in childhood as this is a key factor in reducing the burden of morbidity and mortality of childhood disease.peer-reviewe

Regional differences in childhood BMI data : the Malta childhood national body mass index study

Introduction: Obesity is a problem of major public health concern all over the world and Malta has high obesity prevalence rates. With over a third of Maltese children being overweight or obese, the Malta Childhood National Body Mass Index study was devised to quantify the extent of the problem precisely. This paper looks at regional differences in the BMI data obtained. Methods: Training in measurement was provided to physical education teachers and identical stadiometers were used. Data was processed using World Health Organisation cut-offs for underweight, overweight and obesity. Results: A total of 41,343 students from 145 schools were measured. Age range from 4.7 to 17 years. Approximately 40% of school-aged children in Malta were overweight or obese, with higher percentages of obesity than overweight being observed. Results show significant differences in BMI between children living in Northern and Southern regions of Malta. Conclusion: Results from this study further confirm the high levels of overweight and obesity in Maltese children. The North-South differences should help better target public health resources and should be further evaluated in more focussed research.peer-reviewe

‘That would give us power …’ Proposals for teaching radical participation from a society in transition

In this article, I explore how a group of Spanish students, (aged 11–19), and some of their teachers, understand ‘radical participation’ teaching and learning within the social studies education. I analyze, from an in-depth and critical approach, open questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups, the ways in which they interpret ‘radical participation’ and how they propose ‘radical participation’ be taught. The results suggest that ‘radical participation’ can be taught by: (a) deconstructing the concepts of power, participation, and politics; (b) empowering the students with the communication and critical thinking skills they require to participate; (c) establishing clearer links between schools and society and engaging students with current social movements

Can the subaltern nation speak by herself in the history curriculum?

This article examines and discusses the ways in which hegemonic and subaltern discourses alternatively evoke different, and sometimes competing, notions of “the nation” and how they might productively coexist within the history curriculum. More precisely, using Homi Bhabha’s conceptual tools of pedagogic and performative narratives of the nation, the paper examines history curriculum as permeable to alternative and endless re-inventions of the nation and as intrinsically linked to a fixed, stable and officialised narrative. The study, based on the analysis of the construction of the Catalan nationhood in school textbooks and teachers’ and museums’ resources in Catalonia (Spain), suggests complex dynamics between hegemonic and subaltern discourses rather than fixed conceptualisations. Whereas revolutionary discursive depictions of the nation incorporated in the curriculum have a tendency to be officialised, institutionalized and domesticated through their mediation in educational texts, the article suggests possibilities for more effectively building the subaltern voice within the school curriculum

What does Political Participation Mean to Spanish Students?

This article explores how a group of Spanish students (aged 11–19) understand the meaning of ‘political participation’ in society and discusses the implications of their views for debates and practices in citizenship education. The ways in which these students (n=112) describe and interpret political participation are analysed using an in-depth and interpretative approach employing open questionnaires and interviews. The results suggest that most students value political participation in positive terms and that ‘activist’ students have a more optimistic view of the effectiveness of participation and especially of new forms of participation such as protests

Medical ovariectomy in menopausal breast cancer patients with high testosterone levels : a further step toward tailored therapy

Five years of adjuvant therapy with anti-estrogens reduce the incidence of disease progression by about 50% in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer patients, but late relapse can still occur after anti-estrogens have been discontinued. In these patients, excessive androgen production may account for renewed excessive estrogen formation and increased risks of late relapse. In the 50% of patients who do not benefit with anti-estrogens, the effect of therapy is limited by de novo or acquired resistance to treatment. Androgen receptor and epidermal growth factor receptor overexpression are recognized mechanisms of endocrine resistance suggesting the involvement of androgens as activators of the androgen receptor pathway and as stimulators of epidermal growth factor synthesis and function. Data from a series of prospective studies on operable breast cancer patients, showing high serum testosterone levels are associated to increased risk of recurrence, provide further support to a role for androgens in breast cancer progression. According to the above reported evidence, we proposed to counteract excessive androgen production in the adjuvant setting of estrogen receptor-positive patients and suggested selecting postmenopausal patients with elevated levels of serum testosterone, marker of ovarian hyperandrogenemia, for adjuvant treatment with a gonadotropins-releasing hormone analogue (medical oophorectomy) in addition to standard therapy with anti-estrogens. The proposed approach provides an attempt of personalized medicine that needs to be further investigated in clinical trials

United Kingdom: Citizenship education in the United Kingdom: comparing England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales

Purpose: In this country case study the authors undertake a comparative analysis of citizenship education across the four nations of the UK. The curriculum and contexts in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are first described. Then the article considers how each national example engages with fundamental expectations of citizenship education, specifically in relation to questions of citizenship status and the relationship between citizens and the state; political identity; and active citizenship processes. Approach: Drawing on the authors’ collective experience and insights into policy and practice in each nation, we started with a ‘generative conversation’ to identify key issues for inclusion in this case study. Findings: The article unearths a variety of constraints and problems, and situates these in a broader policyscape in which policy accretion and policy approximation generate a permissive culture, which has undermined the promise of citizenship education as an entitlement for all young people

Rendimento e eficiência da fermentação alcoólica na produção de hidromel.

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Reducing anaemia in low income countries: control of infection is essential.

In settings with high infection burdens, iron interventions for anaemia may be neither safe nor effective. Strategies to tackle the global burden of anaemia must take this into account, argue Sant-Rayn Pasricha and colleagues