$77,000 donation for Child Obesity Research Centre
5 Dec 2007 | Renee Criddle
Private health fund, Australian Health Management, will officially donate $77,000 to the University of Wollongong’s Child Obesity Research Centre (CORe) tomorrow (Thursday 6 December) to assist in the development of the centre’s Time2bHealthy Program.
The on-line program is designed for parents with a pre-school child who is overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. It consists of five modules – introduction, meals, snacks and drinks, physical activity and screen time.
“Currently one quarter of all pre-school children (two - five years of age) are overweight or obese and this prevalence has increased by around 70% in the past decade,” said Project Manager Dr Rachel Jones. “And if early-onset obesity persists, it can cause a burden of disease in adulthood.”
Traditionally, treatment and prevention programs have used face-to-face group methods. However, there are substantial barriers associated with participation in such programs including time constraints, child-care for siblings and travel distance.
In 2007, researchers from CORe and the Educational Media Lab (Emlab) designed and developed the Time2bHealthy program to overcome many of these commonly cited barriers.
The pre-school period has been identified as one of the critical time periods in the establishment of child obesity, so the program offers a combination of interactive activities, practical tips and tricks for parents and information on how to implement change in every day life.
Additionally, participants have the opportunity to communicate with health professionals and other parents participating in the program through on-line mediated discussion forums.
“The next step is to determine the usability, functionality, feasibility and acceptability of the program,” said Dr Jones. “Once it has been shown to be feasible, the online nature of the program means it has great potential to be accessible to rural and remote facilities that otherwise would not be able to access such a program or such support.
“The generous funding from Australian Health Management will fund this next stage.”
When: The cheque presentation will take place on Thursday 6 December at 11am and will involve UOW and AMH representatives
Where: McKinnon (Bldg 67) Dining Room, University of Wollongong
For further information: Contact Dr Rachel Jones on (02) 4221 3321
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