Factor | Approximate age of MCS child at data collection | Level for analysis |
---|---|---|
Biological | ||
Child's gender | 7 years | Male; female |
Child's ethnicity* | 7 years | White; mixed; Indian; Pakistani/Bangladeshi; black or black British; other |
Child's body mass index (BMI) † | 7 years | Underweight/ normal weight; overweight/ obese |
Social | ||
Mother's age at birth (years) | 9 months | 14–19; 20–29; 30–39; ≥40 |
Maternal current occupation‡ | 7 years | Managerial & professional; intermediate; small employers & own account workers; lower supervisory & technical; semi- routine & routine; non-employed |
Maternal highest academic qualification | 7 years | Degree(s)/ post graduate diplomas; higher education/ teaching qualifications/ diplomas; A/ AS/ S-levels; O-levels/ GCSE grades A-C; GCSE grades D-G; other academic qualifications; none of these |
Lone parent status | 7 years | Non-lone parent; lone parent |
Number of children in the household (including the cohort child) | 7 years | 1; 2–3; ≥4 |
Main household language | 7 years | English only; English and other language; non-English speaking |
Whether anyone smokes near the child | 7 years | Yes; no |
Whether the mother is in work or not | 7 years | In work or on leave; not in work or leave |
Main housing tenure | 7 years | Own outright, own mortgage/loan, part own/mortgage; rent from local authority or housing association; rent privately; other |
Type of accommodation | 7 years | House or bungalow; flat or maisonette; studio, room, bedsit, other |
Household income | 7 years | <£10400; £10400–20800; £20800–31200; £31200–52000; >£52000 |
Behavioural | ||
Whether the child has any illnesses or disabilities that limits activity | 7 years | Yes; no |
Number of days a week the child participates in sport or exercise: parent report | 7 years | ≥3 days/week; 2 days/week; 1 day/week; less often/not at all |
Number of hours the child watches TV on weekdays | 7 years | Less than an hour/not at all; 1–3 h; 3–5 h; >5 h |
Whether the child was ever breastfed | 9 months | Yes; no |
Environmental | ||
Access to garden | 7 years | Yes; no |
Ward type (at time of sampling) § | 9 months | Advantaged; disadvantaged; ethnic |
Government office region | 7 years | North East; North West; Yorkshire and the Humberside; East Midlands; West Midlands; East of England; London; South East; South West; Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland; Isle of Man/ Channel Islands |
UK country | 7 years | England; Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland |
*Categorised according to guidelines from the Office for National Statistics.32
† Defined using the International Obesity Task Force cut-off for BMI.31
‡Classified according to the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification.33
§Wards classified as ethnic if at least 30% of residents were from an ethnic minority group (in the 1991 census), disadvantaged if above the upper quartile of the Child Poverty Index37 and the remaining were advantaged (no ethnic stratum in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland24).