October 15, 2019

Early Start presents seminar to NSW Health

More than 100 NSW Health staff – 50 in attendance and 50 via webinar – have heard from UOW Early Start experts, such as Senior Professor Tony Okely, Dr Dylan Cliff and Dr Megan Hammersley.

The one-day interactive seminar held on at University of Wollongong main campus was designed to give NSW Health staff, who focus on Healthy Children’s Initiatives within NSW Health, a deeper understanding of current measurement and assessment methods used.

Early Start experts took a deep-dive into the individual and settings-based level for measuring healthy eating and movement behaviours in children from birth to 18 years. Topics covered screen time, healthy eating behaviours, physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep of children in child care settings, out of hour’s school care, preschool, primary and high schools.

Professor Okely was pleased to have such interest in Early Start’s work from the sector.

“The goal was to enable attendees to conduct research and evaluation of interventions in their local health districts, which target the healthy eating and physical activity environments and behaviours of children,” Professor Okely said.

Back in 2017 Early Start’s Tony Okely was awarded the NSW Health Prevention Research Support Program (PRSP) Grant, which provides funding to NSW research organisations conducting prevention and early intervention research that aligns with NSW Health priorities.