Geraldine Naughton

Geraldine Naughton recently retired as the Professor in Paediatric Exercise Science in the School of Exercise Science, at the Melbourne campus of the Australian Catholic University. She now holds honorary professorial appointments with Macquarie University in Sydney and Swinburne University in Melbourne. Her research focuses of improving health-related outcomes through physical activity, in young people. She has researched with a range of young populations from overweight and obese children to intensively training adolescents. She provides physical activity expertise for multi-disciplinary teams with leading paediatric researchers working to produce evidence-based resources, research, and services for health professionals, state and national governments. She also works on evidence-based policy changes in junior sport with a view to equal opportunity, injury prevention and participation longevity. • Along with colleagues from the University of Sydney, Macquarie University and UNSW, Geraldine’s current projects involve physical and social health improvements from increased play opportunity in the early years of life (Sydney Playground Project). • Her recent work with dietitians from the Royal Children’s Hospital involved a Needs Analysis of the Health (nutrition and physical activity needs) of children 0 to 8 years – this project involved over 400 families from two socially disadvantaged areas in Victoria • Geraldine is part of a number of projects looking at the bone-related responses to physical activity in the first two decades of life. • She was recently a member of the Victorian State Government’s Sporting Injury Prevention Task Force and has collaborated with the Australian Rugby Union about junior sporting pathways for the past 10 years. She has successfully supervised 30 PhD and 6 Masters and 20 Honours students. Main area of expertise Pediatric Exercise Science Sub-disciplines Healthy development in early childhood Musculoskeletal health Childhood overweight and obesity Child and adolescent sport