Your Children of the Children of the 90s (COCOs)
PASSPOrT
all aboArd for your journey of disCoverY
Welcome to your COCOs pasSport!
Being parT of COCOs
Joining COCOs will help us learn more about children, their health, how they grow, and their families.
• Sometimes we will ask you and your family some questions to fill out together.
• You will also be invited to come to special COCOs clinics.
• At these visits, we will see you a few times until you are about 11 years old.
• In the clinic, we might do some simple checks, like how tall you are or how much you weigh.
It’s a chance to find out more about yourself while helping us with our research!
You can write down some of your results in this passport if you like!
Hi I'm Coco, you received me as a teddy when you were 1!
ABOUT YOU r VISIT
• You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.
• You can change your mind at any time.
• You can always ask questionsyour parent / guardian or one of the COCOs team will be happy to explain.
• All of the checks we do are safe.
• Your visit will last about 1 hour.
• While you’re here, you can enjoy an activity sheet , toys, games, and books.
• There will be a snack and drinks station where you can help yourself.
• At the start of each visit, our friendly team will talk to you and your parent / guardian about what we’ll be doing that day. After that, you can decide if you’d like to take part
• For every visit you attend, you will get a £10 shopping voucher as a thank you. Let's use your passport to go on a journey of discovery together!
Your skinfolds
Your Visit
When you come to COCOs, we will do some quick and easy checks to find out more about you –these might include:
We all have some fat in our bodies - we need this to help our bodies work properly. It keep us warm and give us energy to do things. This fat can be stored in different places in our body.
By measuring the amount of fat stored in different places we can look at how this affects our health. We do this by measuring the thickness of your skin (skinfolds) in three places; at the top of your arm, on your back and at the top of your leg. The COCOs team will show you how this is done at the start of the visit.
measuring your armS, hips, waiSt & head
Like your height and weight, we can tell a lot about how you are growing and developing by measuring different parts of your body.
We would like to measure the circumference (distance around) of your tummy (waist), head, arm and hips using a tape measure.
Come with me!
Your bloOd, wee & salIva
Sometimes we ask for a small sample from your body to help us learn more about health. These are called biological samples. Scientists can look at them in the lab to find out useful things, like:
- How your body carries oxygen in your blood.
- How your body reacts to the environment around you.
- What your DNA looks like (DNA is like a special code inside your cells that tells your body how to work).
During your visit, we may ask if you’re happy to give us:
• A little bit of blood – we will explain exactly how this is done before you decide.
• A bit of saliva (spit) – from just inside your mouth.
• A wee (urine) sample – if you need to go to the toilet.
We only ask for some samples at certain ages:
• Blood or saliva: at 9 and 11 years old.
• Wee: from 9 years old.
You don’t have to give a sample if you don’t want to.
Being a 'COCO' is wee-ly exciting!
Signs of eczema
Eczema makes skin sore and itchy. Lots of children have eczema. Researchers want to learn how to help children who do have it. We’ll look at the skin on your body to see if it is sore. We will also ask you some questions about if sore or itchy skin ever stops you sleeping or doing the things you like to do.
HOW STrOnG YOU Are
From age 9 and up, we can measure how strong you are. We will ask you to squeeze the handle on a special machine called a “dynamometer” to find out how strong you are – this will give us your grip strength.
How strong are you?
flexiBilitY
From the age of 11 years, we will look at your flexibility. This means checking how easily your joints can move – for example:
• Bending your fingers
• Stretching your elbows
• Moving your knees
It’s quick, safe, and doesn’t hurt. It just shows us how bendy your body is!
YOUr dXA SCAn
A DXA scan looks at your bones and muscles. To do this, we’ll ask you to lie still on a special machine for a few minutes. This is a bit like having an x-ray in hospital but uses much less radiation. Experts say that it is safe to have a DXA scan.
We only do DXA scans with children who are 7 years and older.
I m POrTAnT
It is important that you do not have any metal on your clothing when you have this done, and we will ask you to take things out of your pockets. We will give you a copy of the scan picture, which you can keep in this passport.
Your Blood PressUre & Pulse
At each visit, we will check your blood pressure and pulse:
• Your blood pressure shows us how hard your heart is working to pump blood around your body.
• Your pulse shows us how fast your heart is beating.
To do this, we put a soft cuff around your arm. The cuff gives your arm a gentle squeeze for a few seconds. It might feel a bit funny, like a balloon inflating, but it doesn’t hurt.
How tall are you?
m y hei G ht is: m y wei G ht is: m y pul S e is: m y blo O d pre S sure is: m y arm cir C umference is: m y wai S t cir C umference is: m y hip cir C umference is: m y head cir C umference is: m y gri P strength is:
Your COCOs journey!
rememBer: You onlY have to take part in whaT you are hapPy witH.
HEIGHT&WEIGHT BloodpreSsure/pulsE
START
HEIGHT & WEIGHT
WOW! yourcompletedYou’ve 11 Years COCOs clinic!
the Children of the 90s, University of Brist
CHIL dren O f
Name
Place of Birth
What would you like to be when you grow up?
Year of Birth
Draw or add a picture here!
Favourite Colour
Favourite Teddy
A note from the COCOs team:
We’re really happy that you’ve chosen to carry on your scientific adventure with us!
The COCOs study is all about finding out more about the health of children today.
The discoveries we make together could help children and families in the future.
This COCOs Passport will show you the different activities you might be asked to do when you come for your visit.
We can’t wait to see you!
Want to know more?
You can view our full Participant Information Sheet by scanning here for more details about any of the information in this booklet.
Contact Information:
Children of the 90s, University of Bristol Learning & Research Building (Level 1)
Southmead Hospital, Bristol, BS10 5NB
Tel: 0117 331 0039
Mobile: 07772 102 649
Email: alspac-coco90s@bristol.ac.uk
