Researcher:
In association with colleagues from the Christchurch College of Education at the University of Canterbury (Michael Grimley, Vicky Cowley, Jill Hargreaves and Christopher Price), I am currently working on a series of publications on the quality and quantity of children’s physical activity and physical education in New Zealand primary schools.
In association with Sport Canterbury, Partnership Health Canterbury, and the Canterbury District Health Board I am investigating the use of a “Green Prescription” for families with obese children. This involves the use of nutrition and physical activity advice to the entire family in an effort to help overweight and obese children.
Another project in conjunction with Sport Canterbury and Catherine Robinson from the Canterbury District Health Board is investigating the motivators and barriers to physical activity in adolescent females.
Along with Phillip Ainslie from Otago University we are investigating predictors of acute mountain sickness in mountaineers and athletes. Since many people that go to high altitude have no prior knowledge of how their bodies will cope with the rarefied atmosphere, being able to predict responders from non-responders has the potential to save expense and lives.