Children of the 90s, the world-famous research project at the University of Bristol has been charting the health of over 14,500 families from Bristol and its surrounding area for almost 25 years.
Each family had a child born in 1991 or 1992 and, over the next two years, thousands of them will take part in Focus@24+, the biggest piece of research the project has undertaken in seven years. This will involve participants taking part in a wide range of tests, exercises and interviews to see how their health has changed and developed since they were born.
‘In addition to sponsoring a sheep in the Bristol Shaun in the City trail, we are delighted to lend our support to The Grand Appeal by having a team run the 10K in aid of the charity’, said Professor Paul Burton from Children of the 90s.
Our research looks at the causes of ill health and its roots in pregnancy and childhood, so teaming up with The Grand Appeal makes perfect sense to us. Over the years, many of our participants have been treated at Bristol Children’s Hospital, so this is our way of giving something back to the community that has been so supportive of Children of the 90s for more than two decades.
Professor Madeleine Murtagh, who chairs the Children of the 90s ethics committee, said:
One of the most exciting things about chairing the Children of the 90s ethics committee, is working directly with the participants and ensuring they have a say in everything we do, so it was great to team up with some of them on the 10K today.
Zoe Shearing, a participant in Children of the 90s, said:
I was looking for a new challenge and the opportunity to run the Bristol 10k with Children of the 90s was perfect. I feel very proud to be part of such an influential study and like to get involved as much as possible.
Children of the 90s has published over 1,000 research papers examining all aspects of health and well-being. Key discoveries related to health and exercise are: