Research Database

Early life risk factors for childhood obesity—Does physical activity modify the associations? The MoBa cohort study

  • Published on June 20, 2019

Objectives High maternal pre‐pregnancy body mass index (BMI), high birth weight, and rapid infant weight gain are associated with increased risk of childhood obesity. We examined whether moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity (MVPA) or vigorous physical activity (VPA) in 9‐ to 12‐year‐olds modified the associations between these early life ...


Objective measurement of tummy time in infants (0-6 months): A validation study

  • Published on February 27, 2019

Abstract The 2017 Australian and Canadian 24-hour movement guidelines recommend infants receive 30 minutes of tummy time daily. Currently, there are no validated objective measurement tools or devices to assess tummy time. The purpose of this study was to: 1) test the practicality of using devices on infants as an objective measure of ...


Effect of skin-to-skin contact on parents’ sleep quality, mood, parent-infant interaction and cortisol concentrations in neonatal care units: study protocol of a randomised controlled trial

  • Published on Aug 1, 2018

Abstract Introduction: Separation after preterm birth is a major stressor for infants and parents. Skin-to-skin contact (SSC) is a method of care suitable to use in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to minimise separation between parents and infants. Less separation leads to increased possibilities for parent-infant interaction, provided that ...


Translating an early childhood obesity prevention program for local community implementation: a case study of the Melbourne InFANT Program

  • Published on Aug 8, 2016

Background: While there is a growing interest in the field of research translation, there are few published examples of public health interventions that have been effectively scaled up and implemented in the community. This paper provides a case study of the community-wide implementation of the Melbourne Infant, Feeding, Activity and ...


Isotemporal Substitution Analysis for Sedentary Behavior and Body Mass Index.

  • Published on Nov 2016

Purpose: This study examined the prospective associations of reallocating time spent in different types of sedentary behavior, physical activity, and sleep with body mass index (BMI) in children using isotemporal substitution analysis. Methods: Chinese children in grades 1–3 were recruited to a cohort study in 2009 and were followed up over a 2...


Using nonlinear methods to quantify changes in infant limb movements and vocalizations

  • Published on Aug. 12, 2014

Abstract: The pairing of dynamical systems theory and complexity science brings novel concepts and methods to the study of infant motor development. Accordingly, this longitudinal case study presents a new approach to characterizing the dynamics of infant limb and vocalization behaviors. A single infant's vocalizations and limb movements were recorded ...