Kids'Cam: An Objective Methodology to Study the World in Which Children Live

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Child Psychology
• Public Health Research Methodology

Background:

• Children's daily environments and exposures are complex and difficult to measure objectively.
• Existing research often lacks objective data on children's real-world experiences.
• Understanding these exposures is crucial for child well-being and public health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a novel methodology for objectively studying children's lived environments.
• To assess children's exposure to food and beverage marketing using objective data.
• To explore ancillary exposures such as alcohol, smoking, and use of green spaces.

Main Methods:

• Employed wearable cameras and GPS units on 168 children (aged 11-13) in Wellington, New Zealand, for 4 days.
• Collected approximately 1.4 million images and 2.2 million GPS coordinates.
• Utilized bespoke software for image coding and ArcGIS for spatial analysis of exposure data.

Main Results:

• Generated substantial objective data on children's exposures across diverse settings, including home, school, and leisure.
• The methodology proved ethical, legal, and acceptable to participants and the community.
• Successfully captured data on challenging-to-measure aspects of children's environments.

Conclusions:

• The developed methodology enables objective analysis of children's environments and exposures.
• Provides robust evidence on children's exposure to food marketing and other factors.
• This approach can facilitate more effective policymaking for numerous public health concerns.