AUT - Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research
Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research
Launched in 2004, the Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research (CPAN) is part of the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences. It is a joint initiative of two of Auckland University of Technology's Research Institutes: National Institute for Public Health and Mental Health Research and Institute of Sport and Recreation Research New Zealand.
CPAN is a
multi-disciplinary research team that focuses on investigating the
health impacts of nutrition, physical activity and exercise, obesity,
and other lifestyle-related diseases across the lifespan. It
is involved in numerous research projects which contribute
internationally to the evidence-base of biological, behavioural, and
environmental determinants of health. Emphasis is on cross-disciplinary
research and the Centre involves researchers from the fields of
psychology, nutrition, medicine, nursing, physiotherapy,
rehabilitation, gerontology, public health, physiology, exercise
science,and biostatistics.
A large number of other researchers from New Zealand and internationally work collaboratively with the CPAN on several projects. Postgraduate student research forms an important part of the Centre's activity.
CPAN has five main specialist areas and conducts various research projects within each field.
Children and Youth Research
Group
The Children and Youth Research
Group is dedicated to finding new ways to promote healthy living in
young people, and builds on the work of several recently graduated PhD
students. In recent years, we have coordinated large-scale surveys of
children’s health behaviour (both cross-sectional and longitudinal),
developed novel school-based interventions for promoting physical
activity and nutrition, and evaluated numerous health promotion
programmes in young people.Our research team is particularly interested
in the role of physical activity and healthy lifestyles in the
prevention and management of childhood obesity.
Environment
and Health
Understanding how urban
design variables relate to physical activity, obesity, health, and
travel behaviours is a key focus for improving population-level health.
CPAN has provided the first national evidence of these associations,
and use a range of spatial and objective tools to investigate these
relationships throughout the country and with different populations.
CPAN members also contribute to an international project in this field
and have expertise in environments which support walking and cycling as
travel modes
Workplace
Health
CPAN staff are active in
understanding and using workplaces as a setting for health promotion,
with a special interest in promoting healthy eating, physical activity,
and smoking cessation. Research has focused on understanding both the
personal health outcomes from a variety of workplace health programmes
and the business outcomes when employees are more active, eating
better, and smoking less. Initial evidence shows that the return on
investment in lifestyle programmes for the employer are positive.
Healthy employees are less absent and more productive on a day to day
basis at work.
Older Adults Research
Group
The Older Adults Research Group
is dedicated to finding new ways to promote healthy living in older
adults, and builds on the work of several enrolled and recently
graduated MHSc and PhD students. In recent years, members of our
research group have investigated the benefits of a variety of physical
activities for older adults as well as determining the influence of a
range of factors on the motives for and barriers to participation in
physical activity for this age group. Research into the effects of
various forms of physical activity have assessed group exercise,
resistance training, dancing and the Green Prescription on the level of
physical activity, functional ability in common activities of daily
living and quality of life of older adults. These projects are
consistent with the primary goals of our research team which is to
investigate the role that physical activity and healthy lifestyles play
in the maintenance of quality of life and the management and prevention
of chronic conditions for older adults and to determine the factors
associated with commencing and adhering to a physical activity
programme.
Body Composition and Metabolism Research
Centre
From conception the shape of
our bodies, where fat is located, how much muscle we have and the
potential for lifestyle diseases such as type 2 diabetes and
cardiovascular diseases is determined by what is eaten and how much
activity we take. This research centre, national and international
collaborators have established a reputation for the measurement of body
composition and metabolism of different ethnic groups - now the focus
is broadened and projects are focussed on what can be done to reverse
the trend of increasing fatness, inactivity and risk for lifestyle
disease.