2500 students to help fight obesity

More than 2500 children from 83 primary schools across the Great South Coast have been invited to participate in a study to help fight childhood obesity.

The Great South Coast Health Behaviours Study will examine influences on healthy weight and related behaviours such as diet quality, physical activity, sedentary behaviour and quality of life.

The study aims to improve the health of young children and adolescents and expand the understanding of childhood health behaviours in schools.

It will bring together health services, councils, primary care partnerships, sporting clubs, councils and other community and business leaders to prevent childhood obesity.

Director of the Global Obesity Centre, a World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention at Deakin University, Professor Steven Allender, said the study was bringing cutting edge research to the region.

“We’ve invited all primary schools across the Great South Coast region to participate and at this stage about 70 per cent have signed on. It’s a whole-of-region program and we hope all schools will become involved,” Dr Allender said.

“This level of engagement with schools for a study of this size is unprecedented and really brings cutting edge science to Western Victoria.”

As part of the study, children in Years 4-6 will complete a questionnaire about their physical activity, food intake and their health and wellbeing. Students in Year 2 and Years 4-6 will also have their weight and height measured.

Some children will be selected to wear an activity monitor for seven days.

Professor Allender said the study would continue existing world-leading research in the region.

“The new data we collect will give us an insight into how communities are responding to the challenge and addressing the problem of childhood obesity,” he said.

“We are working with different agencies and community leaders as part of a major effort to help them to identify the best ways to improve the health of their children.”

The new study is being funded until 2021 by the National Health and Medical Research Council.