Leading airlines have warned that they could be punished at the Copenhagen climate change talks this year because the industry has failed to influence environment ministers.
Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways, urged airlines to increase their lobbying efforts after delivering a warning about the efforts of the United Nations body charged with representing airlines, the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
ICAO, which is comprised of transport ministers from UN member governments, has failed to thrash out an emissions-trading scheme for airlines and is not due to meet again until October, by which point other groups could have proposed tougher measures for airlines.
Speaking at the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Kuala Lumpur, Walsh said Iata should take the initiative before it is too late.
"I don't think ICAO has done enough and I don't think they will be able to influence decisions at Copenhagen. That is why it is important for Iata to reach a position," he said.
Walsh also echoed fears among airline executives that carriers will be singled out by politicians because they have not been included in official carbon dioxide reduction targets.
"Getting our voice heard and being represented is critical. We have got to ask ourselves who is representing the airline industry at Copenhagen. We have got to do something to get our voice heard."
Walsh admitted that airlines had made an error by focusing their lobbying efforts on transport ministers and not their colleagues at environment departments.
"We tend to spend more of our time talking to transport ministers than environment ministers," he said. "It's not going to be the transport ministers who will be at Copenhagen. We may have been talking to the wrong audience and we have to turn that around very quickly."
Tony Tyler, chief executive of Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific, said airlines still had an opportunity to state their case. "We don't want to be faced after Copenhagen with that feeling of 'oh my goodness we should have done something'."
Iata has been pushing ICAO to agree an action plan that would include a global emissions-trading scheme for airlines. However, ICAO's efforts have been stymied by a failure to reach agreement with emerging superpowers such as Brazil, India and China.
Other countries are preparing to fill the policy gap at Copenhagen while Iata stands on the sidelines. The world's poorest countries are pushing for a long-haul flight tax that would contribute $10bn (£6.2bn) towards fighting global warming and could be agreed at Copenhagen, where governments will thrash out a sequel to the Kyoto climate change agreement.
International aviation and shipping were carved out from Kyoto on the proviso that ICAO and the International Maritime Organisation came up with their own climate-change schemes – which both groups have failed to do after a decade of talks.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Fuel emissions focus 'too narrow'
Policymakers must consider more than just "tailpipe" emissions when assessing the impacts of different modes of transport, say researchers.
Many analyses overlook greenhouse gases emitted in constructing and maintaining travel infrastructures, they added.
The team found that, based on passenger kilometres travelled, off-peak urban bus services were more carbon-intensive than flights by commercial aircraft.
The findings have been published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
The researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, said the importance of tackling emissions from transport meant that decisions should not be based on partial data.
"Governmental policy has historically relied on energy and emission analysis of automobiles, buses, trains and aircraft at their tailpipe," they wrote.
"[This ignores] vehicle production and maintenance, infrastructure provision and fuel production requirements to support these modes.
"To date, a comprehensive life-cycle assessment (LCA) of passenger transportation in the US has not been completed."
Hidden emissions
The team selected a range of transport to be assessed, including a saloon car, an urban bus service and a mid-sized aircraft.
They then identified ways in which energy was being used and/or gases were being emitted.
As well as assessing "operational components", such as the fuel consumption of running an engine, the team also considered the impacts of "non-operational components", such as road construction, street lighting and maintenance.
The data was then presented in terms of grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per passenger kilometre travelled (g CO2e/PKT) to allow a comparison between the different modes' carbon intensities.
Many analyses overlook greenhouse gases emitted in constructing and maintaining travel infrastructures, they added.
The team found that, based on passenger kilometres travelled, off-peak urban bus services were more carbon-intensive than flights by commercial aircraft.
The findings have been published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
The researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, said the importance of tackling emissions from transport meant that decisions should not be based on partial data.
"Governmental policy has historically relied on energy and emission analysis of automobiles, buses, trains and aircraft at their tailpipe," they wrote.
"[This ignores] vehicle production and maintenance, infrastructure provision and fuel production requirements to support these modes.
"To date, a comprehensive life-cycle assessment (LCA) of passenger transportation in the US has not been completed."
Hidden emissions
The team selected a range of transport to be assessed, including a saloon car, an urban bus service and a mid-sized aircraft.
They then identified ways in which energy was being used and/or gases were being emitted.
As well as assessing "operational components", such as the fuel consumption of running an engine, the team also considered the impacts of "non-operational components", such as road construction, street lighting and maintenance.
The data was then presented in terms of grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per passenger kilometre travelled (g CO2e/PKT) to allow a comparison between the different modes' carbon intensities.
Greenathon Impact: Lighting lives with green energy
World Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the earth's environment and to reduce the impact of climate change.
At NDTV, we did our bit for the environment in February with the first of its kind 24-hour telethon.
The NDTV Toyota Greenathon was a non-stop television event that raised money for TERI's Light a Billion Lives scheme that aims at solar powering villages across India.
The initiative received an overwhelming response from our viewers. So far, nine villages in Rajasthan, 16 in Orissa, 16 in West Bengal, two in Haryana, two in Assam and three in Jharkhand have benefitted from the project.
In a follow up, the NDTV team visited the Bad Gujran village in Rajasthan and found that the solar lamps had transformed life there. The village was sponsored by Qualcomm.
Not long ago, this little Rajasthan village would plunge into darkness as the sun went down. Kerosene lamps were all that the villagers had to light up their lives. But these lamps also burnt a hole in their pockets and gave out toxic fumes.
But that is not the case anymore. TERI's Light a Billion Lives initiative has brought a revolution to this village with its solar lamps- each of which costs a mere Rs 2 and lasts the entire night.
Mahavir Singh, an enterpreneur, in whose house the solar charging station has been set up, lists the benefits.
"It was difficult for children to study earlier with kerosene lamps. The wind would put off the lamps and the fumes were also harmful. With these solar lamps, children are able to study properly. It is also helping women in their household chores. Earlier with kerosene lamps we would only be able to study for an hour. But now, we are able to study for 3-4 hours," said Mahavir Singh.
Villagers say they can now work through the night and celebrate through the night. Whether at work or play, solar lamps have now become an essential part of village life.
At NDTV, we did our bit for the environment in February with the first of its kind 24-hour telethon.
The NDTV Toyota Greenathon was a non-stop television event that raised money for TERI's Light a Billion Lives scheme that aims at solar powering villages across India.
The initiative received an overwhelming response from our viewers. So far, nine villages in Rajasthan, 16 in Orissa, 16 in West Bengal, two in Haryana, two in Assam and three in Jharkhand have benefitted from the project.
In a follow up, the NDTV team visited the Bad Gujran village in Rajasthan and found that the solar lamps had transformed life there. The village was sponsored by Qualcomm.
Not long ago, this little Rajasthan village would plunge into darkness as the sun went down. Kerosene lamps were all that the villagers had to light up their lives. But these lamps also burnt a hole in their pockets and gave out toxic fumes.
But that is not the case anymore. TERI's Light a Billion Lives initiative has brought a revolution to this village with its solar lamps- each of which costs a mere Rs 2 and lasts the entire night.
Mahavir Singh, an enterpreneur, in whose house the solar charging station has been set up, lists the benefits.
"It was difficult for children to study earlier with kerosene lamps. The wind would put off the lamps and the fumes were also harmful. With these solar lamps, children are able to study properly. It is also helping women in their household chores. Earlier with kerosene lamps we would only be able to study for an hour. But now, we are able to study for 3-4 hours," said Mahavir Singh.
Villagers say they can now work through the night and celebrate through the night. Whether at work or play, solar lamps have now become an essential part of village life.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Smoking more harmful to women than men
Smoking is injurious to health - and more so for women. According to doctors, smoking can lead to multiple complications in women and the very first heart attack could lead to sudden death.
Praveen Aggarwal, chief cardiologist, Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi, confirms a series of heart attacks among female smokers.
Aggarwal told IANS: "The cause of heart ailments among female smokers is much higher because women have small arteries in comparison to men. Even the first heart attack in a women smoker can cause sudden death."
Roshan Roa, senior cardiologist, Metro Hospital and Heart institute, Noida, said: "The risk of heart complications among woman smokers is twice that of a normal smoker."
"If a women is smoking from a young age then she stands a greater risk of contracting heart problems. Female smokers who use oral contraceptives risk serious after-effects, including increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, such as blood clots, heart attacks and strokes," Roa added.
Sanjay Mittal, also from Metro Hospital, said during pregnancy smoking increases the chances of sudden infant death syndrome, learning disorders and attention deficit disorder in the child.
If a woman is in a child-bearing age and still smoking then it will have a bad effect on the child during pregnancy along with a greater risk of heart attack to the mother.
According to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) study, one in 10 women in urban India smoke or chew tobacco. The WHO report also estimates that seven percent of women in developing countries smoke compared with 48 percent men.
"Women who smoke are at a higher risk and face a number of health hazards such as heart disease and lung cancer," said K.K. Aggarwal, president, Heart Care Foundation of India.
"Women who quit smoking have a 21 percent lower risk of dying from coronary heart disease within five years of quitting smoking. The risks of dying from other conditions also decline after quitting, although the period varies depending on the disease. For chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, it may take up to 20 years," he said.
According to a study, smoking leads to greater risk of developing cervix and vulvar cancers. Nineteen percent of cervical and 40 percent of vulvar cancer are caused by smoking.
Harmful affects of smoking for women:
- Smoking greatly increases risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Smoking causes interruptions in menstrual cycle and induces quicker menopause.
- Smoking causes pre-term delivery, low birth weight, miscarriage, and neonatal death.
- Children born to smoking mothers experience more colds, ear aches, respiratory problems, illnesses.
- Smoking affects fertility.
- Female smokers are more susceptible to osteoporosis.
- Smoking causes more breathing difficulties in women than in men.
Praveen Aggarwal, chief cardiologist, Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi, confirms a series of heart attacks among female smokers.
Aggarwal told IANS: "The cause of heart ailments among female smokers is much higher because women have small arteries in comparison to men. Even the first heart attack in a women smoker can cause sudden death."
Roshan Roa, senior cardiologist, Metro Hospital and Heart institute, Noida, said: "The risk of heart complications among woman smokers is twice that of a normal smoker."
"If a women is smoking from a young age then she stands a greater risk of contracting heart problems. Female smokers who use oral contraceptives risk serious after-effects, including increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, such as blood clots, heart attacks and strokes," Roa added.
Sanjay Mittal, also from Metro Hospital, said during pregnancy smoking increases the chances of sudden infant death syndrome, learning disorders and attention deficit disorder in the child.
If a woman is in a child-bearing age and still smoking then it will have a bad effect on the child during pregnancy along with a greater risk of heart attack to the mother.
According to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) study, one in 10 women in urban India smoke or chew tobacco. The WHO report also estimates that seven percent of women in developing countries smoke compared with 48 percent men.
"Women who smoke are at a higher risk and face a number of health hazards such as heart disease and lung cancer," said K.K. Aggarwal, president, Heart Care Foundation of India.
"Women who quit smoking have a 21 percent lower risk of dying from coronary heart disease within five years of quitting smoking. The risks of dying from other conditions also decline after quitting, although the period varies depending on the disease. For chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, it may take up to 20 years," he said.
According to a study, smoking leads to greater risk of developing cervix and vulvar cancers. Nineteen percent of cervical and 40 percent of vulvar cancer are caused by smoking.
Harmful affects of smoking for women:
- Smoking greatly increases risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Smoking causes interruptions in menstrual cycle and induces quicker menopause.
- Smoking causes pre-term delivery, low birth weight, miscarriage, and neonatal death.
- Children born to smoking mothers experience more colds, ear aches, respiratory problems, illnesses.
- Smoking affects fertility.
- Female smokers are more susceptible to osteoporosis.
- Smoking causes more breathing difficulties in women than in men.
Forest projects aimed at wildfire protection misdirected, study says
With the federal government spending nearly $3 billion trying to reduce the impact of fire in national forests, a new academic study suggests the bulk of the work is being done in precisely the wrong places.
Researchers at the University of Colorado found that only 11% of so-called fuel-reduction projects in the last five years are undertaken where increasing numbers of Westerners are living: in that alluring landscape on the edge of suburbia that fire officials call the urban-wild land interface.
Despite the fact that the National Fire Plan calls for special emphasis on thinning forests in or near the interface areas, the paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes that Americans living in fire-prone areas are not beneficiaries of the same fire protection projects as back country forests.
"We were very surprised by our results," said Tania Schoennagel, lead researcher. "It's a problem. I think we need more targeting of the wild land urban interface in terms of mitigating fire. It's more effective if you are near communities. The public has the impression that a lot of acres are being treated, so there's a sense that a lot is getting done."
The Forest Service's analysis last year, however, cataloged 15 million acres of public land in the urban-wild land fringe that had been treated for "hazardous fuels reduction and landscape restoration" since 2001, compared with about 29 million acres outside the interface: roughly a 1:2 ratio. The study also included Department of Interior lands.
The University of Colorado team of geographers, fire ecologists and landscape ecologists examined more than 44,000 federally funded fuel-reduction projects in 11 western states between 2004 and 2008. It is the first analysis to systematically juxtapose the Forest Service's cutting and clearing with communities and subdivisions. The researchers concluded that only 3% of the projects took place in the interface as strictly defined. An additional 8% of the work occurred within 1.5 miles of the interface, an area the team defined as a "buffer."
Complicating the best intentions of federal fire managers to clear forest land, the study revealed that about 70% of the property in the interface is privately owned and beyond the jurisdictional reach of the U.S. Forest Service.
"It's an odd situation when you step back from it," Schoennagel said. "The Forest Service is in charge of fire suppression and protecting homes, yet that agency has no jurisdiction over requiring fire-wise homes and landscaping."
Schoennagel noted that projects undertaken in interface zones are three to four times more expensive than those in remote areas. With 15% of the West's interface already developed, Schoennagel said, "If we really want to control fire risk, I think we really have to control development in the wild land urban interface."
Researchers at the University of Colorado found that only 11% of so-called fuel-reduction projects in the last five years are undertaken where increasing numbers of Westerners are living: in that alluring landscape on the edge of suburbia that fire officials call the urban-wild land interface.
Despite the fact that the National Fire Plan calls for special emphasis on thinning forests in or near the interface areas, the paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes that Americans living in fire-prone areas are not beneficiaries of the same fire protection projects as back country forests.
"We were very surprised by our results," said Tania Schoennagel, lead researcher. "It's a problem. I think we need more targeting of the wild land urban interface in terms of mitigating fire. It's more effective if you are near communities. The public has the impression that a lot of acres are being treated, so there's a sense that a lot is getting done."
The Forest Service's analysis last year, however, cataloged 15 million acres of public land in the urban-wild land fringe that had been treated for "hazardous fuels reduction and landscape restoration" since 2001, compared with about 29 million acres outside the interface: roughly a 1:2 ratio. The study also included Department of Interior lands.
The University of Colorado team of geographers, fire ecologists and landscape ecologists examined more than 44,000 federally funded fuel-reduction projects in 11 western states between 2004 and 2008. It is the first analysis to systematically juxtapose the Forest Service's cutting and clearing with communities and subdivisions. The researchers concluded that only 3% of the projects took place in the interface as strictly defined. An additional 8% of the work occurred within 1.5 miles of the interface, an area the team defined as a "buffer."
Complicating the best intentions of federal fire managers to clear forest land, the study revealed that about 70% of the property in the interface is privately owned and beyond the jurisdictional reach of the U.S. Forest Service.
"It's an odd situation when you step back from it," Schoennagel said. "The Forest Service is in charge of fire suppression and protecting homes, yet that agency has no jurisdiction over requiring fire-wise homes and landscaping."
Schoennagel noted that projects undertaken in interface zones are three to four times more expensive than those in remote areas. With 15% of the West's interface already developed, Schoennagel said, "If we really want to control fire risk, I think we really have to control development in the wild land urban interface."
The rich welcome the humble-looking abode
Coffee tables made from barrels. Lamps crafted from brooms. Chairs swathed in burlap and sackcloth. Look at the some of the newest furniture on the market, and the recession appears to have really hit home. But irony alert: This new brand of shabby chic doesn't come cheap.
At the Dan Marty showroom in the Pacific Design Center, the heart of West Hollywood's design scene and the place where top decorators shop for their wealthy clients, light fixtures made from old French apple baskets carry $1,600 price tags and canopy chairs upholstered in burlap sell for $3,600 a pair. Some of these pillows cost $600 each," Marty said, pointing to shams made from grain bags. Customers tease him about the high prices, but the pillows are selling -- about two dozen a month. Kathy Hilton, Paris' mom, just picked up eight of them.
At Environment Furniture, an eco-chic retailer that counts actor-environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio as one of its customers, giant floor cushions are made of truck tarps and $3,000 sectional sofas are upholstered in material from old pup tents and other military textiles.
Such humble looks would have probably drawn disdain from style-conscious consumers addicted to Hollywood glamour and glitz a few years ago, but times have changed and so have many high-end home fashions. Some of today's expensive decor seems more "Beverly Hillbillies" than "Beverly Hills 90210."
Like a dowager in a Chanel jacket with frayed cuffs, the look suggests modesty -- people of means who wish to express their taste without flaunting their relative immunity to the recession.
Brooke Hodge, former curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, has christened it "dumpster diver deluxe."
Arbiters of style such as Jonathan Adler, a Melrose Avenue boutique owner and judge on the Bravo show "Top Design," see the trend as the convergence of several looks: an organic, modern direction evidenced in tree-stump end tables and other designs that recall the back-to-nature hippie era; the urban loft aesthetic, which embraces castoff industrial furnishings and found objects; and a growing green consciousness, with an emphasis on recycled materials.
"People used to say that 'less is more' meant 'more expensive,' " Adler said. "Now you can say humble is the new grandeur."
Recession chic exudes the "romance and pioneer spirit of homesteaders," said Newell Turner, style director at the 113-year-old House Beautiful, the oldest continuously published shelter magazine in the U.S. "If you work at a computer all day, you have a heightened need for a connection to nature and things that are earthy and homespun."
Regardless of its origins, dumpster diver deluxe is resonating among affluent shoppers who simply want to dial down ostentation and not appear out of step with the times.
"I've seen high-end chairs stripped of gilt to the natural wood and upholstered in very plain canvas," Hodge said. "That's a more refined, less trendy way to show restraint."
The trend has prompted some cynicism in the design community.
Matilda McQuaid, deputy curatorial director of the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York, said the phenomenon was hard to define as restraint when the merchandise was still expensive.
"There is even a theatrical aspect to it as if the wealthy are trying to play the role of an 'impoverished man,' but in a very safe way," she said.
Such designs could be a short-lived fad -- "like patched jeans," McQuaid said.
But part-time Los Angeles resident Bo Banks disagrees. The television producer bought a $3,500 Dan Marty chaise covered in burlap for her Chicago apartment.
"I don't think it's a fad," she said. "When you see something that looks like a traditional antique covered in a plain and natural fabric, it looks fresh and beautiful -- casual but still a little fancy."
At Los Angeles-based Cisco Brothers, whose furniture is sold at 350 retailers nationwide including the company's flagship stores in Pasadena and on La Brea Avenue in L.A., owner Francisco Pinedo is marketing ottomans upholstered with recycled leather patchwork.
What's more, about 20% of Pinedo's line is one-of-a-kind furniture made from reclaimed wood. This year, he said, the company is on track to sell 100 tables made from wine barrels and reclaimed stone tops. Prices start at $1,240.
or $3,600 a pair.
At the Dan Marty showroom in the Pacific Design Center, the heart of West Hollywood's design scene and the place where top decorators shop for their wealthy clients, light fixtures made from old French apple baskets carry $1,600 price tags and canopy chairs upholstered in burlap sell for $3,600 a pair. Some of these pillows cost $600 each," Marty said, pointing to shams made from grain bags. Customers tease him about the high prices, but the pillows are selling -- about two dozen a month. Kathy Hilton, Paris' mom, just picked up eight of them.
At Environment Furniture, an eco-chic retailer that counts actor-environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio as one of its customers, giant floor cushions are made of truck tarps and $3,000 sectional sofas are upholstered in material from old pup tents and other military textiles.
Such humble looks would have probably drawn disdain from style-conscious consumers addicted to Hollywood glamour and glitz a few years ago, but times have changed and so have many high-end home fashions. Some of today's expensive decor seems more "Beverly Hillbillies" than "Beverly Hills 90210."
Like a dowager in a Chanel jacket with frayed cuffs, the look suggests modesty -- people of means who wish to express their taste without flaunting their relative immunity to the recession.
Brooke Hodge, former curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, has christened it "dumpster diver deluxe."
Arbiters of style such as Jonathan Adler, a Melrose Avenue boutique owner and judge on the Bravo show "Top Design," see the trend as the convergence of several looks: an organic, modern direction evidenced in tree-stump end tables and other designs that recall the back-to-nature hippie era; the urban loft aesthetic, which embraces castoff industrial furnishings and found objects; and a growing green consciousness, with an emphasis on recycled materials.
"People used to say that 'less is more' meant 'more expensive,' " Adler said. "Now you can say humble is the new grandeur."
Recession chic exudes the "romance and pioneer spirit of homesteaders," said Newell Turner, style director at the 113-year-old House Beautiful, the oldest continuously published shelter magazine in the U.S. "If you work at a computer all day, you have a heightened need for a connection to nature and things that are earthy and homespun."
Regardless of its origins, dumpster diver deluxe is resonating among affluent shoppers who simply want to dial down ostentation and not appear out of step with the times.
"I've seen high-end chairs stripped of gilt to the natural wood and upholstered in very plain canvas," Hodge said. "That's a more refined, less trendy way to show restraint."
The trend has prompted some cynicism in the design community.
Matilda McQuaid, deputy curatorial director of the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York, said the phenomenon was hard to define as restraint when the merchandise was still expensive.
"There is even a theatrical aspect to it as if the wealthy are trying to play the role of an 'impoverished man,' but in a very safe way," she said.
Such designs could be a short-lived fad -- "like patched jeans," McQuaid said.
But part-time Los Angeles resident Bo Banks disagrees. The television producer bought a $3,500 Dan Marty chaise covered in burlap for her Chicago apartment.
"I don't think it's a fad," she said. "When you see something that looks like a traditional antique covered in a plain and natural fabric, it looks fresh and beautiful -- casual but still a little fancy."
At Los Angeles-based Cisco Brothers, whose furniture is sold at 350 retailers nationwide including the company's flagship stores in Pasadena and on La Brea Avenue in L.A., owner Francisco Pinedo is marketing ottomans upholstered with recycled leather patchwork.
What's more, about 20% of Pinedo's line is one-of-a-kind furniture made from reclaimed wood. This year, he said, the company is on track to sell 100 tables made from wine barrels and reclaimed stone tops. Prices start at $1,240.
or $3,600 a pair.
Nutrition: Parents’ Healthy Diet Has Little Influence
Parents may try to set an example by eating a healthy diet themselves, but a new study has found that their children are not paying attention.
Researchers studied a nationally representative sample of adults ages 20 to 65 and their children 2 to 18, a total of 2,291 parents and 2,692 children, tracking their eating habits with questionnaires. They found little resemblance between the consumption of total energy, carbohydrates, saturated fats or polyunsaturated fats by children and their parents, although children’s diets were slightly more likely to resemble their mothers’ than their fathers’. The study was published online in Social Science and Medicine.
Level of parental education and socioeconomic status made little difference. Unsurprisingly, the older children were, the more likely they were to differ from their parents. As children get older, the authors suggest, peers become a much stronger influence on food consumption.
“This suggests that parents don’t play as large a role as people have thought in their children’s diet,” said a co-author of the study, Dr. Youfa Wang, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Most parents are not doing as good a job as they should.”
Researchers studied a nationally representative sample of adults ages 20 to 65 and their children 2 to 18, a total of 2,291 parents and 2,692 children, tracking their eating habits with questionnaires. They found little resemblance between the consumption of total energy, carbohydrates, saturated fats or polyunsaturated fats by children and their parents, although children’s diets were slightly more likely to resemble their mothers’ than their fathers’. The study was published online in Social Science and Medicine.
Level of parental education and socioeconomic status made little difference. Unsurprisingly, the older children were, the more likely they were to differ from their parents. As children get older, the authors suggest, peers become a much stronger influence on food consumption.
“This suggests that parents don’t play as large a role as people have thought in their children’s diet,” said a co-author of the study, Dr. Youfa Wang, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Most parents are not doing as good a job as they should.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)