The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) invites you to participate in a short survey about your
interaction with the ARDC and use of our national research infrastructure and services. The survey will take
approximately 5 minutes and is anonymous. It’s open to anyone who uses our digital research infrastructure
services including Reasearch Link Australia.
We will use the information you provide to improve the national research infrastructure and services we
deliver and to report on user satisfaction to the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research
Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) program.
Please take a few minutes to provide your input. The survey closes COB Friday 29 May 2026.
Complete the 5 min survey now by clicking on the link below.
Improving Metabolic Fitness In Aboriginal And Torres Straight Islander Women: A Pragmatic Controlled Trial Of Waist Loss
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$556,193.00
Summary
Torres Strait Islanders have the highest prevalence of diabetes in Australia and weight gain in young women can increase further the risk of diabetes for themselves and their babies. Waist loss can reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease. A pilot study in the Torres Strait in 2007, has demonstrated that this is achievable and acceptable in young Indigenous women. This proposal aims to conduct a larger trial, to look at effectiveness and sustainability of waist loss in young women.
Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial Of An Innovative Intervention To Increase Childrens Physical Activity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$505,530.00
Summary
Rates of childhood obesity are increasing and outdoor free play is decreasing. Research suggests that these patterns are inter-related, and that adults perceive outdoor free play to be risky for children. In this study we will reprioritise play, reframe teachers' perceptions of risk and modify the playground environment to increase children's physical activity. We will assess the effectiveness of this simple, cost-effective intervention in a randomised controlled trial.
Central Neural Mechanisms Underlying The Effect Of Endocannabinoids On Body Weight
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$377,793.00
Summary
Obesity and its associated pathologies of cardiovascular and respiratory disease, stroke, predisposition to some cancers and infertility in women no longer needs to be justified as a major health issue in modern societies. In fact it is quickly becoming recognised as the major threat to world health. Recently, the anecdotal evidence for increased food intake, particularly the craving of high carbohydrate, high sugar foods, associated with the use of marijuana has been put into a therapeutic cont ....Obesity and its associated pathologies of cardiovascular and respiratory disease, stroke, predisposition to some cancers and infertility in women no longer needs to be justified as a major health issue in modern societies. In fact it is quickly becoming recognised as the major threat to world health. Recently, the anecdotal evidence for increased food intake, particularly the craving of high carbohydrate, high sugar foods, associated with the use of marijuana has been put into a therapeutic context. Specifically a cannabinoid receptor antagonist, rimonabant (currently undergoing trials as Accomplia) has become a central player in the race for an obesity therapy because of its effects in blocking the brain receptors that would normally respond to cannabinoid like compounds in the brain that tend to increase food intake. Despite the trials that are underway in Europe and the USA many of the central actions of the naturally occurring cannabinoids in the brain, the so-called endocannabinoids are very poorly understood. This series of experiments utilizing the best technologies available will address basic questions relating to the brain pathways involved and even the extent to which weight loss associated with the administration of these drugs to rats and presumably humans is dependent on the reduction of food intake or the burning of energy in a process called thermogenesis. These are essential pieces of information if this type of compound is to be considered as a serious contender in the search for an obesity therapyRead moreRead less
Effectiveness, Cost-effectiveness And Equity Of Strategies To Reduce The Burden Of Obesity-related Conditions
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$46,900.00
Summary
Decision-makers need a systematic, coordinated approach to the targeting and prioritisation of preventive strategies. But the evidence base for obesity interventions is for the most part small, narrow in approach, limited in impact, and lacking in cost-effectiveness and equity information. This thesis will add to the evidence base regarding the nature of the obesity epidemic in Australia and internationally and the relative cost-effectiveness of strategies to reduce the obesity burden.
The brain plays a major role in the overconsumption of high fat/high sugar foods and this contributes to obesity but it receives little attention when it comes to developing novel treatments. My lab showed that a FDA-approved smoking cessation medication, that is a nicotinic receptor modulator, decreased the overconsumption of sugar. This project aims are to identify which nicotinic receptors and brain circuits are involved in the overconsumption of sucrose to improve treatments for obesity.
Harnessing New Media To Translate Prevention Research Evidence In To Practice And Policy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$321,414.00
Summary
This project is focused on two key priority areas of prevention research: tobacco control and obesity. The main aim of this project is to strengthen the knowledge base and evidence-based application of new media for preventive health initiatives.The research will provide missing insight into how to use new media more effectively to translate prevention research findings in to policy and programs.
Randomised Controlled Trial Of A Brief GP Intervention To Reduce Overweight In Victorian Primary School Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$662,600.00
Summary
Childhood overweight and obesity is one of the most pressing public health problems of our time. The aim of this study is to lower the levels of overweight and mild obesity in children aged 5-9 years, through sustainable family and child nutritional and-or physical activity behavioural choices that can be implemented by general practitioners (GPs). This trial addresses the urgent need identified in the 2003 NHMRC Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Childr ....Childhood overweight and obesity is one of the most pressing public health problems of our time. The aim of this study is to lower the levels of overweight and mild obesity in children aged 5-9 years, through sustainable family and child nutritional and-or physical activity behavioural choices that can be implemented by general practitioners (GPs). This trial addresses the urgent need identified in the 2003 NHMRC Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents for simple, well-designed intervention studies which can be translated into usual clinical practice. Effective and coordinated universal prevention, secondary prevention and management services will all be needed to reduce the problem, and a great deal of research is needed in all of these. This proposal addresses the most neglected area of research - secondary prevention in the primary care sector. Through our previous research, we have already showed that this approach is feasible and acceptable to families and GPs. Our multidisciplinary research team is well-established, and we are not aware of any other research team in Australia that has the capacity and expertise to conduct this research at this point in time. In this randomised controlled trial, we expect a halving in the rate of gain in BMI over 6 and 12 months. This would equate to the average participant achieving a BMI of 25 (verging on overweight) rather than 30 (obese) by adulthood. If effective, we expect the following outcomes: 1) The adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyle behaviours in that segment of the population which has most to gain over a lifetime - overweight and obese children 2) Documentation that general practitioners can make a significant contribution to combating the childhood obesity epidemic 3) A replicable, feasible, cost-effective primary care approach to childhood overweight-obesity tailored to the Australian health care system.Read moreRead less
A Dietary Intervention In Gestational Diabetes To Reduce Child Obesity: A Randomised Controlled Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$354,715.00
Summary
Women with gestational diabetes (GDM) whose blood glucose levels (BGL) are not well controlled have a higher chance of giving birth to large babies. These babies are at high risk of becoming overweight children and adults. Preventing child obesity therefore requires appropriate intervention during pregnancy complicated with GDM. This study will determine the ability of specific dietary advice (aimed at reducing maternal BGL) to reduce the risk of large babies in a typical ante-natal setting.
This proposal is designed to test the protein leverage hypothesis (PLH) in humans: the idea that the level of food consumption in humans, like other animals, is adjusted to maintain a target protein intake. As the prevalence of overweight and obesity increases, with its attendant health problems, the need to identify which dietary components limit rather than exacerbate energy intake is imperative. According to the PLH, the consumption of a diet low in % protein and high in % fat and carbohydrat ....This proposal is designed to test the protein leverage hypothesis (PLH) in humans: the idea that the level of food consumption in humans, like other animals, is adjusted to maintain a target protein intake. As the prevalence of overweight and obesity increases, with its attendant health problems, the need to identify which dietary components limit rather than exacerbate energy intake is imperative. According to the PLH, the consumption of a diet low in % protein and high in % fat and carbohydrate, typical of many Western countries, inevitably requires the ingestion of additional energy to maintain protein intake constant, thus driving weight gain. Conversely, the consumption of a diet that is relatively high in % protein requires the ingestion of lower levels of energy, creating the potential for weight loss. Preliminary experimental and population-level nutritional survey data support the PLH, as does the finding that protein is more satiating than other macronutrients. If, as predicted, small changes in the proportion of protein in diets described in the current study are found to impact on total energy intake there will be significant implications for weight control strategies. Thus, if the PLH is confirmed, public health dietary recommendations and government policy settings for the food industry will need to change. Large-scale intervention studies aimed at demonstrating the longer term impact on body weight will also be required.Read moreRead less
Identification Of Key Enzymes Required For Efficient Post-translational Modification And Multimerisation Of Adiponectin
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$92,364.00
Summary
Obesity is a major national and global health issue, with 62% of adult Australians being overweight/obese, associated with a number of diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Fat tissue secretes hormones and dysregulation of these hormones contributes to the development of obesity-associated disease. This project aims to define processes governing the secretion of one key hormone and ultimately to identify targets for the treatment of obesity-associated complications.