Public Seminar - Physical Activity and Nutrition

This event was held on Friday 13 March 2015

This public seminar hosted by the University of Newcastle Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition presents Associate Professor Mark Beauchamp from the University of British Columbia, Canada and Dr Justin Richards from the University of Sydney, Australia.

SUPPORTING HEALTH-ENHANCING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ACROSS THE LIFESPAN: LEADERSHIP AND GROUP BASED PERSPECTIVES

Mark Beauchamp

Associate Professor Mark Beauchamp (Univeristy of British Columbia, Canada)

In light of pervasive levels of physical inactivity that exist in childhood right through to older adulthood, Assoc Prof Mark Beauchamp and his colleagues have sought to understand a range of social/contextual factors that can be harnessed to support the promotion of health-enhancing physical activity with a range of populations. In this talk Mark will provide an overview of some contemporary leadership and group-dynamics approaches that can substantively inform physical activity interventions across the age spectrum.

Mark R. Beauchamp is an Associate Professor and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research scholar in the School of Kinesiology at the University of British Columbia, Canada. He is director of the Psychology of Exercise, Health, and Physical Activity Laboratory at UBC. Drawing from diverse disciplines (that include behavioural medicine, organizational psychology, and education) his research program is concerned with (a) understanding both barriers to, and facilitators of, physical activity behaviour across the age spectrum, and (b) developing conceptually-sound evidence-based interventions that are cost effective and sustainable. He has over 90 peer-reviewed publications, and has received funding as principal investigator from agencies such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He is a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS). He is currently an Associate Editor for Psychology and Health and sits on the editorial boards for a number other journals including Health Psychology (APA), Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, and Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology (APA). Read more at http://faculty.educ.ubc.ca/markbeauchamp/index_002.htm


PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MENTAL HEALTH: TAKING A PEEK UNDER THE BLANKET

Justin Richards

Dr Justin Richards (University of Sydney, Australia)

There is a growing evidence for the relationship between physical activity and mental health outcomes. Previous research in this area has focused on the treatment and prevention of mental health disorders (e.g. depression, anxiety). The subsequent broad dissemination of blanket statements claiming inherent mental health benefits from all forms of physical activity has been embraced by physical activity practitioners and policy makers globally. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that there are complex physiological and psychosocial interactions that contribute to the relationship between physical activity and mental health. This presentation draws on evidence from a randomised controlled trial conducted in Uganda and secondary analysis of international data to unpack contextual elements of physical activity interventions and explore alternative constructs of mental health.

Justin Richards is an NHRMC Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Prevention Research Collaboration within the School of Public Health and Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney. He previously completed a D.Phil in Public Health at the University of Oxford and his research interests focus on physical activity interventions and associated mental health outcomes in vulnerable adolescents. This includes ongoing work in low- and middle-income countries as well as marginalised populations in high-income settings. He has a particular interest in the rigorous evaluation of sport-for-development interventions and is a founding editor of the Journal of Sport for Development. Justin also has previous
experience working within the UN system and the public sector.