Health

The health of children & young people during the early stages of their life can have a monumental effect on their health as an adult. Examining the lifestyles of youth in regards to their health could form a very interesting dissertation!

Example health dissertation topic 1:

Focus on obesity in Scotland: Health education projects and programmes aimed at the 9-13 year old age group.

In the UK, the incidence of overweight and obese children is increasing; this paper considers the factors for such increases as a background to the success of current health education projects aimed at decreasing the rates of childhood obesity. Further, it conducts a comprehensive survey of the initiatives conducted in three regional NHS Health Boards in Scotland over a five year period, and evaluates the changes – if any – in obesity rates within those regions. Finally, the thesis includes primary research conducted in three schools in Scotland, whereby teachers and school health officials report the responses they have found to programmes undertaken within schools.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Borys, J.-M., Le Bodo, Y., Jebb, S. A., Seidell, J. C., Summerbell, C., Richard, D., De Henauw, S., Moreno, L. A., Romon, M., Visscher, T. L. S., Raffin, S., Swinburn, B. and the EEN Study Group (2012). ‘EPODE approach for childhood obesity prevention: methods, progress and international development’, Obesity Reviews, Vol. 13, pp. 299-315.
• McNeill, G., Masson, L.F., Craig, L.C.A., Macdiarmid, J.I., Holmes, B.A., Nelson, M. and Sheehy, C. (2010). ‘Sugar and fat intake among children in Scotland: What is needed to reach the dietary targets?’, Public Health Nutrition, Vol. 13, pp. 1286-1294.
• Simovska, V., Dadaczynski, K. and Woynarowska, B. (2012). ‘Healthy eating and physical activity in schools in Europe: A toolkit for policy development and its implementation’, Health Education, Vol. 112(6), pp. 513 – 524.