Obesity

The MRINZ has a long-standing collaboration with researchers from the University of Auckland and University of Otago, working to identify associations between various lifestyle factors and obesity in children and adolescents. The collaboration utilises data on over 250,000 children from 71 centres in 35 countries, from the ISAAC programme. In 2017 we published major studies investigating the association between body mass index (BMI), and birth weight, and vigorous physical activity in the ISAAC children. Although several of these and other early life and current exposures were associated with small changes in BMI, the effect sizes were small, and not of sufficient magnitude to support public health interventions at the individual level.

Consideration needs to be given to governmental policy changes that regulate the obesogenic environment in order to halt the burgeoning problem of childhood obesity

Recent News

Publications

Key team members