133 research outputs found
[Compte-rendu] Elizabeth Dowler et Nick Spencer (dir.), Challenging Health Inequalities. From Acheson to "Choosing Health”, 2007
No full textInternational audienceBook reviewed: Elizabeth Dowler and Nick Spencer (eds), Challenging Health Inequalities. From Acheson to "Choosing Health", Policy Press, 2007.Ouvrage recensé : Elizabeth Dowler et Nick Spencer (dir.), Challenging Health Inequalities. From Acheson to “Choosing Health”, Policy Press, 2007
Policy initiatives to address low-income households’ nutritional needs in the UK
No full textMembers of low-income households in the UK are more likely to have patterns of food and nutrient intakes that are less inclined to lead to good health outcomes in the short and long term. Health inequalities, including the likelihood of child and adulthood obesity, have long been documented in the UK and show little sign of improving so far, despite 10 years of attention from a government that has committed itself to addressing them. Following the Acheson Inquiry into Inequalities in Health (1998) in England a number of initiatives to tackle inequalities in food and diet were established, both nationally and within the devolved nations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Nevertheless, until recently, there has been no overall strategic policy addressing the food and nutritional needs of low-income households. The present paper reviews how the problems have been constructed and understood and how they have been addressed, briefly drawing on recent evaluations of food and nutrition policies in Scotland and Wales. The contemporary challenge is to frame cross-cutting policy initiatives that move beyond simple targeting and local actions, encompass a life-course approach and recognise both the diversity of households that fall into ‘low-income’ categories and the need for ‘upstream’ intervention
Inequalities in diet and physical activity in Europe
No full textThe contribution of food, nutrition and physical activity to inequalities in health across Europe is largely unexplored. This paper summarizes cross sectional survey data on food patterns and nutrient intakes, and briefer data on physical activity, by various indicators of socio-economic status for countries across Europe. Factors are examined which underlie the outcome data seen. These include structural and material conditions and circumstances which contribute to excluding sociodemographic groups from participating in mainstream patterns of living. Trends in social and economic conditions, and their implications for nutritional and physical wellbeing are briefly outlined
Rights based approaches to addressing food poverty and food insecurity in Ireland and UK
No full textFood poverty is an important contributing factor to health inequalities in industrialized
countries; it refers to the inability to acquire or eat an adequate quality
or sufficient quantity of food in socially acceptable ways (or the uncertainty of being able to
do so). Synonymous with household food insecurity, the issue needs to be located within a
social justice framework. Recognising the clear interdependence between the right to food
and the right to health, this paper explores how international human rights obligations could
inform approaches to addressing food poverty and insecurity with specific reference to
Ireland and the UK. Little attention has been paid to how countries should meet their
obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to food in developed countries. The paper
contributes by examining the social and policy circumstances which inhibit poor households
from obtaining sufficient food to eat healthily, along with strategies and interventions from
State and civil society actors in the two countries. In practice, problems and potential
solutions have largely been directed towards the individual rather than at social determinants,
particularly as research on environmental factors such as distance to shops has produced
equivocal results. Other key structural aspects such as income sufficiency for food are
broadly ignored by the State, and anti-poverty strategies are often implemented without
monitoring for effects on food outcomes. Thus scant evidence exists for either Ireland or the
UK meeting its rights to food obligations to date, in terms of roles and responsibilities in
ensuring access to affordable, available and appropriate food for all
Just and sustainable? : examining the rhetoric and potential realities of UK food security
No full textThe dominant discourse in 20th century UK food and agricultural policies of a liberal, free trade agenda was modified at the turn of the 21st to embrace ecological sustainability and "food security." The latter term has a long international history; the relationship between issues of technical production and equality of distributional access are also much debated. The paper examines shifts in UK policy discourse in the context of international research, policy, and initiatives to promote food security, and highlights the implications for social justice in and through the food system
Food safety and consumers: Constructions of choice and risk
No full textThis paper argues that food safety did not arise as a "new" obsession at the end of the twentieth century, but has been an intermittent object of public and policy concern over the last two hundred years in the UK. However, the nature of food policy has shifted over that period, from an orientation towards protecting a larger ignorant public from fraud, through controlling the risks potentials arising from negligence in food-handling, to informing rational consumers to enable them to "choose" the right foods. Most recently, the public have had a nominally more active role in food policy, as citizens consulted on the content of the policy agenda. Drawing on histories of food policy in the UK and social science research on consumers, this paper explores the links between the changing risks and publics addressed by British food policy
Prediction of Hourly Dry Matter Intake in Horses
No full textABSTRACT
DOWLER, LAUREN ELIZABETH. Prediction of Hourly Pasture Dry Matter Intake in Horses. (Under the direction of Paul David Siciliano.)
Establishing hourly dry matter intake (DMI) rates for horses grazing pasture would allow for calculation of the required length of time for horses to consume only their daily caloric requirement; thereby preventing wasteful overconsumption of pasture. Unfortunately, estimates of hourly pasture DMI rates are scant. The objective of this two-part study was to use an herbage mass (HM) reduction method to determine pasture DMI over an 8-hr period (experiment 1- EXPT1) and to test the validity of these estimates (experiment 2 – EXPT2). Pasture DMI in EXPT1 was measured using eight horses of light horse breeding (7 mares, 1 gelding; mean ± body weight 576 ± 32 kg; mean age 15.6 ± 6.8yr) at three separate times throughout the year (October 2008, and February, and May of 2009 - hereafter referred to as periods 1, 2, 3, respectively). Horses grazed for two consecutive 4-h periods in each of two separate 5m x 5m cells following 12h of feed restriction. The HM of each cell was determined prior to and after each 4-hr grazing period and was used to determine hourly DMI rate. Mean pasture DMI rate over the entire 8-h grazing period was 0.166, 0.088, and 0.108 ± 0.013 kg DM · 100 kg BW-1 · h-1 in periods 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Mean DMI rate over 8h was different across periods (period 1 > 2 and 3; P B; P < 0.001). Experiment 2 immediately followed EXPT1 in each period. The same horses from EXPT1 were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: unrestricted grazing (UNRES; n=4) or restricted grazing (RES; n=4) for the 42d. Horses in the UNRES group grazed continuously; horses in the RES group grazed only for a time period calculated to allow for consumption of daily DEm requirement only. Daily DEm was calculated using the hourly DMI rates determined in EXPT1, pasture DE concentration, and daily maintenance DE requirements. Body weight was monitored weekly. Mean BW increased over time (P = 0.013) by 7.9 ± 17.91 kg in period 1 and decreased over time in both period 2 (P < 0.001) and 3 (P < 0.001) (11.5 ± 16.98 and 44.44 ± 17.45 kg, respectively), but neither treatment nor treatment x time interaction were significant in any period. When extrapolated to a 15 h grazing time each day, the hourly DMI estimates correspond to a daily DMI of 2.49, 1.32, and 1.62% BW for periods 1, 2, and 3, respectively. While the estimate from periods 1 and 3 seem reasonable and are within the range of the NRC (2007), the estimate from period 2 seems low, and is not within the range (NRC 2007). However, the change in BW in each period of EXPT2 suggests that hourly intake rate likely varies from day to day as well as with changes in environmental variables, season, and forage characteristics. Withholding feed prior to EXPT1, could have led to atypical hourly DMI rates. In future studies estimating hourly pasture DMI, it may be useful to alter horse management techniques. While this data suggests that herbage mass reduction is a useful tool for determining DMI, it may be most accurate under specific conditions. Studies comparing the estimates of hourly DMI rate obtained through different methods such as markers, short term weight changes, and measurement of fecal outputs and known DM digestibilities would be useful in determining the most useful and accurate method to obtain estimates in the future
Food and health inequalities : the challenge for sustaining just consumption
No full textRecent evidence on the relationship between socio-economic status, diet and health is examined in relation to inequalities and sustainable consumption, focusing on UK experiences and some elements of state response. Work on food and nutritional inequality has traditionally been located within public health, though policy usually focuses on individual agency. Contemporary demand for more sustainable patterns of (food) consumption pose potential challenges, particularly if sourcing “local” and/or organically produced food be the main response, since this strategy, itself problematic, may be more expensive and/or inaccessible. Nevertheless, emerging evidence that low-income consumers desire and aspire to sustainable, better food, healthier for the environment, local communities and themselves, is discussed, along with policy and research challenges
Thinking about 'food security' : engaging with UK consumers
No full text'Food security' has recently gained policy salience in the UK and internationally. Definitions
vary, but the term is generally used by policy makers to imply sustained access by all
consumers to sufficient food that is affordable, safe, nutritious and appropriate for an active
and healthy life. Recent attention partly reflects anxiety over possible resource and
environmental instabilities within the food system and the effects of economic recession. Food prices are often used to signal potential food insecurity; prices have risen recently in
Britain as elsewhere, along with increased fuel costs and significant financial and job
insecurities. All of these factors are likely to have differential effects on food management in
households living in different social and economic circumstances. Recent research using a
mixed methods approach explored some of these complexities by engaging with UK
consumers to examine people's reactions to increasing food prices, and their views on
responsibility for 'food security'. Well aware of increased food costs, most could identify
key commodities, and many cited increased oil and input prices as causes; some made links
to the larger financial crisis. Few knew the term 'food security'; though most initially
interpreted it as food safety and quality, the idea that affordable, healthy food should be
available and accessible for all was widely recognised. Many saw this as increasingly
difficult for themselves and others in current circumstances and, while acknowledging
commercial realities, look to government primarily to secure nutrition and food security for
all
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