The way people live affects their health throughout life. Surprisingly little is known about the lifestyles of young women in Britain today. We do not know how their employment, child care responsibilities, family life, patterns of exercise and housing alter their diets and body weight and hence influence their health through life. If a woman becomes pregnant her diet and body weight before and during pregnancy influences the growth of her baby. A baby is nourished by its mother’s body stores of protein and fat and by what she eats in pregnancy. A mother’s body composition and diet also affects the health of the baby throughout its life by establishing its susceptibility to a group of disorders that includes coronary heart disease, diabetes, raised blood pressure and stroke.
The Medical Research Council Unit at the General Hospital, Southampton, is an internationally known centre for the study of women’s lifestyles and health. It is also known for its studies of pregnancy and the growth of babies.
The Unit is planning to ask 20,000 women aged 20 – 34 years who live in the city of Southampton to help in a new and important study. Beginning in March, women will be contacted by telephone or letter and invited to take part. If they agree to do so a nurse will call at their home at a convenient time. The women will be asked various questions about their lifestyles and family circumstances, their diets will be recorded and their heights and weights measured.
The Director of the MRC Unit, Professor David Barker, says “Over the years the people of Southampton have been enormously helpful with our research. We hope that young women will be willing to give a little of their time to a study which will for the first time inform government about the needs of young women in Britain today”.
The project was launched at a Press Conference on Tuesday, March 3rd. The project team has a staff of 40, led by Dr Hazel Inskip (a senior scientist) and includes Dr Lynne Macready (a General Practitioner), Dr Sian Robinson (a nutritionist) and Julia Hammond (a senior nurse).