Annual Report 2015–2016

16
Improving children’s health through physical activity
Associate Professor Chris Lonsdale – Australian Catholic University
Physical inactivity is a leading cause of disease in Australia.
Associate Professor Lonsdale and his team have set out
to tackle this problem through a research project aiming
to increase children’s activity and improve their health.
The project will explore the links between physical activity
and childhood development, and the results could be used
to develop a framework for promoting physical activity for
children across Australia.
Associate Professor Chris Lonsdale is leading a collaborative
team of researchers to deliver a research program that aims to
promote children’s physical activity and improve their health.
Associate Professor Lonsdale said the partnership research
project aims to examine how a program promoting physical
activity can affect children’s development outcomes.
“This collaborative study, known as iPLAY, will examine
whether a teacher adopting a program aimed at promoting
physical activity can affect children’s fitness, wellbeing and
academic performance.
“This research will expand upon an existing research
to will deliver a professional development intervention
targeting primary school teachers in New South Wales,”
Professor Lonsdale explained.
Mr Ross Morrison, Leader of the School Sport Unit at New
South Wales Department of Education and Communities,
which is a project partner, said the study strives to enhance
teacher practice and confidence when leading school sport
and physical activity programs.
This $1.3 million partnership grant was announced
by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Health
Minister Sussan Ley on 3 March 2016 as part of 96
NHMRC grants for new research worth
$129.4 million.
Minister Ley said grants would support Australia’s
preeminent researchers and focused on a range of
topics that were critical to Australian health.
“This promise supports Australia’s commitment
to fostering the best and brightest in health and
medical research,” she said.
“This kind of research plays an important role in
making Australians healthier and improving their
quality of living,” Ms Ley said.
NHMRC CEO Professor Anne Kelso noted the
importance of the grants.
“We have a highly productive and internationally
competitive research community, and the recipients
of these grants will pursue exciting and innovative
research for the benefit of human health.
“The mix of both outstanding new talent and
experienced and internationally recognised
researchers shows the breadth and depth of medical
research in Australia,” Professor Kelso concluded.
“This is a key issue for primary teachers who typically have
little specialist training in this area,”
Mr Morrison remarked.
iPLAY will be delivered using online teacher professional
learning system in a pilot study to 20 schools in Western
Sydney. The program will then be rolled out to promote
children’s physical activity in up to 200 schools across New
South Wales over the next five years.
Mr Morrison said the valuable outcomes of the research will
be used to inform strategic direction and to promote
high-quality teaching practice in schools and other
learning environments.
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Annual Report of the National Health and Medical Research Council 2015–2016