Research news June 2009
10/07/2009
16:03
Page 9
ResearchNews | Volume 3 | Issue 1 | July 2009 9
Dublin Institute of Technology
Food and Health
Young apprentices under the microscope
In the past, according to the Construction Workers Health Trust (CWHT), construction workers in Ireland have had a life expectancy estimated to be 10 years below that of the national average for an Irish male. A combination of poor lifestyle and an unhealthy working environment has contributed to this grim statistic. The former includes heavy drinking patterns, consistently poor diet, high rates of cigarette smoking and a general culture of not going to the doctor until unfortunately, in many cases, it was too late. Their unhealthy working environment has included being exposed to harmful substances and known carcinogens found on building sites. Dermot McGarthy, a lecturer in DIT’s School of Construction has been teaching communication skills since 1996 to construction apprentices in Linenhall and he was motivated to investigate this phenomenon further. “I wanted to try to do something about this very serious situation and to help young construction workers starting out in the industry” says Dermot. “I wanted to see if early intervention could help reduce their risk of disease and give them an opportunity to make a lifestyle choice”. He contacted Dr John Kearney, Lecturer in Nutrition and Epidemiology, in the School of Biological Sciences, DIT Kevin Street, and discussed with him his proposal for conducting medical research among young construction workers attending classes in DIT Bolton St. They made a successful cross-disciplinary joint application for funding and recruited PhD student Xiao Meng to conduct the research. Xiao was awarded her primary degree in 2002 from the China Medical University. She was awarded her Masters degree from Kings College London in 2006 and is currently researching her doctoral degree under the supervision of Dr Kearney.
Carpentry and joinery apprentices in DIT Linenhall
“I wanted to see if early intervention could help reduce their risk of disease and give them an opportunity to make a lifestyle choice”.
The research team will track a number of these students and ask them to undergo tests again on their return to Bolton Street in the next phase of their training in 2010. Intervention, in the form of dietary and lifestyle advice will be offered to individuals depending on their respective test results.
For their research they designed a health and lifestyle questionnaire which was completed by a sample group of apprentices completing Phase 4 of their FÁS training in DIT Bolton Street. Then with the co-operation of CWHT, they conducted a series of medical tests, including blood tests, focusing on lung function; blood sugar; cholesterol; blood pressure; and body mass index (BMI).
“The endgame, as far as I am concerned,” says Dermot, “is to improve the long term health of these young construction workers by encouraging them to make positive changes in attitudes and behaviour”. For more information contact: e: dermot.mcgarthy@dit.ie