Deakin University
Research Field: Behavioural Epidemiology, Physical Activity
Physical inactivity is a leading risk factor for disease. From a young age, children spend a lot of time sitting and not enough time moving, which can set them up to experience issues with health, wellbeing, and school performance.
Professor Hesketh’s research seeks to understand the barriers to young children being active and design programs to help them develop habits from the start of life to move more and sit less. She is currently trialling a new program, Let’s Grow, for families of toddlers supporting parents around active play, sleep, and limiting screen time. Another of her programs, INFANT, is now being offered across Victoria, with state government support.
Kylie has contributed to parenting magazines, podcasts and social media. She develops content for the Australian Government’s Raising Children Network and serves on Steering Committees for community-facing organisations. She leads the biannual Australian Physical Activity Report Card that synthesises national and state prevalence data into easily understandable “grades” (A+ to E).
Professor Hesketh received her PhD from the University of Melbourne in 2005. She is currently a Research Professor within Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN).