TELETHON KIDS INSTITUTE
Research Field: Children’s Health & Wellbeing
One in five Australian children aged 2-4 are overweight or obese. Physical activity is a critical
strategy for combating rising childhood obesity. A/Prof Christian’s multidisciplinary team focuses on
turning challenges into opportunities to make a positive difference to children’s health and
wellbeing through promoting more active childhoods. She works closely with families and children,
government, non-government organisations, professional bodies and the private sector to uncover
the best environments, policies and programs to facilitate physically active lifestyles for children’s
lifelong health and wellbeing.
A/Prof Christian’s research involves interventions focused on the child, the family, and social and
built environment. This includes strategies to create healthy early childhood education and care
environments, identifying how the home and neighbourhood environment shapes children’s health
and development, and ways to increase children’s physical activity through active play and walking
with the family dog.
A/Prof Christian actively communicates her research through a variety of innovative mechanisms
including mainstream media, social media and community presentations.
A/Prof Christian is Head of the Child Physical Activity, Health & Development team at the Telethon
Kids Institute, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Western Australian and a Heart
Foundation Future Leader Fellow.