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Research

Children's physical activity and screen time behaviours impact their physical health and well-being. In Australia, less than half of children meet daily physical activity recommendations and only one-third meet daily screen time recommendations.

Research

We know relatively little about the role the neighbourhood built environment plays in promoting young children's physical activity, particularly its longitudinal effect either through repeated exposure to the same environment or through change in exposure by moving from one neighbourhood to another.

Research

Canada, Australia, the World Health Organization and other countries have released 24-hour movement guidelines for the early years which integrate physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep, focusing on supporting children to achieve a healthy 24-hour day. The guideline evidence synthesis, however, highlighted the dearth of high-quality evidence, particularly from large-scale studies. 

Research

School-based nutrition education (NE) has an important role in promoting healthy eating habits and helping prevent chronic diseases – particularly among disadvantaged children and youth who are more likely to experience poor diet quality. 

News & Events

Researchers have identified 10 Australian shopping strips where the removal of on-street parking would transform the area’s liveability.

News & Events

Researchers exploring the potential health benefits of pets have found children who regularly walk and play with a family dog are more active, have less screen time, and sleep more.

News & Events

A new study has highlighted the positive impact dog ownership has on our mental health.

Research

Nurturing children's health together: A collaboration between early childhood education and care (ECEC) educators and parents on active play and eating well

Research

Natural outdoor environments such as green and blue spaces have increasingly been seen as key health and wellbeing determinants for adults. However, it is unclear if these effects are seen in young children. We examined the associations between access to natural green and blue space and young children's socioemotional development. 

Research

This study explores the differential impact of weather on time allocation to physical activity and sleep by children and their parents. We use nationally representative data with time use indicators objectively measured on multiple occasions for more than 1,100 child-parent pairs, coupled with daily meteorological data.