Posted on October 12, 2004 at 10:49 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — A study under way at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Center for the Advancement of Youth Health aims to determine how children’s behaviors, their lifestyles and their environments affect their health over time.

“The project will provide a scientific basis for making decisions on social and educational policies and intervention programs,” says Janice Gilliland, Ph.D., program manager for the Center for the Advancement of Youth Health, “and it will provide information on ways to promote health and well-being among children and adults.”

Chronic illnesses, cancer, addictions, psychiatric disorders and abuse often have their origins in behaviors and lifestyle habits established during childhood and the teen years. Such behaviors include smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet, alcohol and drug abuse and risky sexual behaviors.

Researchers will gather information about children’s health behaviors through interviews with children and their caregivers. The surveys will include questions about time spent watching television or sitting in front of a computer, exercise, seatbelt usage, school environments and risky behaviors such as smoking or drinking. Researchers will conduct interviews every two years for 10 years.

UAB is coordinating the study, which is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. UAB Professor Michael Windle, Ph.D., is the study’s principal investigator and director of the Center for the Advancement of Youth Health. Andrea Eden, Ph.D., is the study’s project director. The University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Texas, Houston are participating in the study with UAB. In total, the three sites will enroll 5, 250 fifth graders for the study. UAB is currently enrolling fifth graders from local schools. Ultimately, UAB will enroll about 1,750 fifth graders over two years.

The UAB Center for the Advancement of Youth Health, established in 2000, is a multi-disciplinary institute housed in the Department of Psychology. The center is funded by federal grants and is designed to reduce health risk behaviors, decrease child morbidity, mortality and disability and to foster positive health outcomes and educational achievement.