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Many children do not accumulate sufficient physical activity for good health and development at early childhood education and care (ECEC). This study examined the association between ECEC organizational readiness and implementation fidelity of an ECEC-specific physical activity policy intervention.
Current methods for assessing the healthfulness of 24-hour movement behaviours (sleep, sedentary time, light physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity) use binary classifications that fail to capture their continuous and compositional nature. This study introduces a percentile-based scoring and visualization approach to evaluate the healthfulness of movement behaviour time-use compositions, using social-emotional development in early childhood as an example.
Unhealthy outdoor food advertising is strongly linked to poor diet, highlighting the need for policies. Western Australian (WA) local governments can restrict advertising on their owned infrastructure through their Public Health Plans, but limited policy action has occurred.
Child obesity is a serious public health challenge affected by both individual choice and societal and environmental factors. The main modifiable risk factors for child obesity are unhealthy eating and low levels of physical activity, both influenced by aspects of the built environment.
Genomic sequencing in congenital heart disease (CHD) patients often discovers novel genetic variants, which are classified as variants of uncertain significance (VUS). Functional analysis of each VUS is required in specialised laboratories, to determine whether the VUS is disease causative or not, leading to lengthy diagnostic delays.
This qualitative study used in-depth interviews to explore adolescent girls’ perceptions of sexualized images they typically find when using social media. Twenty-four participants aged 14–17 years described sexualized images of females as normalized on social media. The interplay between gendered and social norms that endorsed and rewarded girls for posting sexualized images was seen to influence an expectation for girls to conform with their peers and post such images of themselves.
A substantial body of literature points to the educational and social benefits of school breakfast programs. Most high-income countries provide free or subsidized school breakfasts to support disadvantaged children. Australia does not have a nationally-funded school meal program. Instead, charitable organizations offer school breakfast programs on a voluntary basis, often with funding support from state/territory governments.
Food retail and food service outlets can be part of a chain, or independently operated. Chain food outlets are likely to have the most influence over community food environments but have not been routinely identified in studies which map and monitor access to food, highlighting an important knowledge gap. This study aimed to identify the food retail and food service outlets present within metropolitan Perth, including presence of chain and independent food outlets; and examine differences across local governments.
Overweight and obesity in children continues to increase. Yet, the role of active transport, namely walking, in mitigating these trends remains unclear. This study examined the cross-sectional association between walkability and children's Body Mass Index (BMI) and how this varies by socio-economic and lifestyle characteristics.
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.