Parents' educational levels could affect their children's health. Studies by the National Public Health Institute KTL and the Centre for Research and Development of Welfare and Health STAKES indicate that children of parents with lower levels of education are more likely to smoke than the offspring of their more educated peers.
New research shows that one factor influencing childhood health is the parents' level of education. Initial results indicate that poorly educated persons are more prone to take up smoking and drinking than their highly educated peers. The life expectancy of working age lower level employees is also estimated to be three to six years shorter than for professionals.
The research looked at data for more than six thousand families. Education had a major impact on a child's propensity to smoke from a very early stage - even as an embryo. Visits to post-natal and child clinics play a central role in narrowing the health gap
The studies show that about nearly 28 percent of mothers with primary education smoked while pregnant. The corresponding percentages for mothers with secondary or tertiary education were nearly 13 percent and almost 4 percent respectively.
Among breastfeeding mothers 14 percent with only primary education reported smoking while breastfeeding, while 4.6 percent with secondary education reported the practice, and just 1.4 percent of mothers with tertiary education took a puff while breastfeeding.
The research also shows that health care services aren't enough to tackle this issue. Other variables indirectly affecting children's health include taxation on fresh fruit and vegetables and insufficient planning for outdoor recreation areas. What the researchers have concluded is that a broad, multi-sectoral approach is needed to ensure that all children have an even playing field when they get started in life.