Skip to content
The Kids Research Institute Australia logo
Donate

Search

The Challenges of Being Physically Active: A Qualitative Study of Young People With Type 1 Diabetes and Their Parents

Benefits of physical activity are well recognized for youth with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), but being active is challenging. In this study, we aimed to investigate the challenges experienced by adolescents, their parents and young adults with T1DM when they are physically active.

A study protocol for a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a dog-facilitated physical activity minimal intervention on young children's physical activity, health and development: the PLAYCE PAWS trial

Pet ownership brings many health benefits to individuals. In children developmental benefits can extend to improved self-esteem, better social competence and decreased loneliness. The majority of households with children own a dog, however only a small proportion of children gain the benefits of dog ownership through dog walking and play. There are few intervention studies investigating the impact of dog-facilitated physical activity in children. The PLAYCE PAWS study aims to test a minimal-contact intervention through the use of mobile health ("mhealth") strategies, i.e. text (SMS) messages, to parents to encourage their children to walk and play with their dog more, and evaluate the impact on children's overall physical activity and development.

Is vegetation cover in key behaviour settings important for early childhood socioemotional function? A preregistered, cross-sectional study

The environmental influences on early childhood development are understudied. The association between vegetation cover (i.e., trees, shrubs, grassed areas) in four key behaviour settings and socioemotional functioning was investigated in 1196 young children (2–5 years).

Restricting outdoor advertising of unhealthy food: can Australia's food category-based classification system be applied consistently?

Most outdoor food advertising (e.g. billboards and bus stops) features foods that are considered unhealthy. The most important technical challenge when designing policies to restrict unhealthy outdoor food advertising is defining 'unhealthy food'. To date, most restriction policies have used nutrient profiling models (i.e. foods are classified according to their nutritional composition) to determine which foods and beverages may be advertised. In Australia, state governments have endorsed a food category-based classification system, with no prescribed nutrient limits, which may create ambiguity when multiple users are identifying food advertisements to be restricted. 

Play Active Program – physical activity policy and training for Early Childhood Education and Care

Play Active is a national, low-cost, evidence-based program to boost energetic play in early childhood education and care. It offers free professional development for educators.

Longitudinal effects of dog ownership, dog acquisition, and dog loss on children’s movement behaviours: findings from the PLAYCE cohort study

Regular physical activity is important for children's physical and mental health, yet many children do not achieve recommended amounts of physical activity. Dog ownership has been associated with increased physical activity in children, however, there have been no longitudinal studies examining this relationship.

PLAYCE

With rising levels of physical and mental health issues, ensuring children establish good physical activity behaviours early in life is more important than ever.

Family dogs help kids move and sleep more: new study

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.

Child Physical Activity, Health and Development

Our Child Physical Activity, Health and Development team focuses on improving children’s physical activity levels, health and development. We work to uncover the best environments, policies and programs to facilitate physically active lifestyles for lifelong health and wellbeing.

PLAYCE Cohort Study: Moving well for optimal child health and development

The PLAYCE Cohort was established to investigate how movement behaviours change over early to late childhood, across key behaviour settings and relationships with health and development