ACAORN
Mission statement
The Australasian Child and Adolescent Obesity Research Network (ACAORN) was established to foster and coordinate research collaboration among Australian and New Zealand child and adolescent obesity research groups to identify key research questions and seek funding to address these with high quality research.
ACAORN functioned from 2002-2015 during which time its goal was achieved. Thanks to the support of ANZOS this website archive is available as a record of ACAORN. This also provides access to the information, tools and resources developed by the network that continue to be used and remain relevant today.
Please be aware the information, contacts and links are current only to 2015.
Goals
To foster the development (and maintenance) of a coordinated Australasian program of research into basic, clinical and population health aspects of child & adolescent obesity.
To promote collaboration with international child and adolescent obesity researchers and communicate with relevant professional and scientific associations about ACAORN research activities.
To engage with agencies responsible for research priorities and funding to increase resources for child and adolescent obesity research.
To identify and develop opportunities for training, exchange, and awards in child and adolescent obesity research.
To raise the profile of childhood obesity research.
ACAORN’s history
The Australasian Child and Adolescent Obesity Research Network (ACAORN) was established in November 2002 with a grant from the NSW Department of Health in response to the challenges posed by the current epidemic of child and adolescent obesity. The goal of ACAORN was to bring together the Australasian paediatric and adolescent obesity research community to collaborate on a co-ordinated and appropriately funded range of research activities.
ACAORN had around 70 members from many different research groups, representing Australia’s leading paediatric and adolescent obesity researchers. All are committed to the goal of performing research to develop effective prevention and treatment programs, to improve outcomes and to reduce the prevalence of child and adolescent overweight and obesity. The initial funding from the NSW Department of Health enabled these researchers to meet face-to-face to discuss the strengths and weaknesses in paediatric obesity research and to devise new strategies and solutions to address these issues.
During its lifespan, ACAORN made significant progress towards its goals. The ACAORN meetings enabled members to:
determine the most pressing research issues;
set up Special Interest Streams to address these issues; and
plan and commence research into these areas.
Past child and adolescent obesity stream co-leaders:
Physical Activity & Sedentary Behaviour – Tony Okely, Louise Hardy, Jim Dollman
Food & Nutrition – Michael Dibley, Karen Campbell, Clare Collins, Anthea Magarey, Rebecca Golley, Tracy Burrows
Management – Kate Steinbeck, Louise Baur, Rachel Taylor, Matt Sabin
Prevention – Boyd Swinburn, Elizabeth Waters, Kerry O’Brien, Colin Bell, Elizabeth Denney-Wilson, Karen Campbell, Rachel Jones
Outcomes & Complications – Sue Byrne, Melissa Wake, Michael Dibley
Funding
The NSW Department of Health has provided funding for some activities of the Australasian Child and Adolescent Obesity Research Network (ACAORN). The ACAORN Executive is looking at a range of strategies to ensure ongoing funding for ACAORN activities.
Several ACAORN members (LA Baur, M Wake, KS Steinbeck) were awarded a grant, for the period 2007-2009, from the Foundation for Children for a project entitled “Clinical and community studies of child and adolescent obesity research: a coordinated approach”. This project aims to provide further infrastructural and web-site support for the Childhood Obesity Pooling Project, a database of measurement tools, and a network of tertiary obesity clinics.
The State of Queensland, through the Queensland Department of Health, has generously agreed to provide ACAORN with beneficial funding for three years from 2010 to 2012. Funding of $30,000 per annum will assist with maintenance of the ACAORN website, employment of a part-time project officer, and continuation of collaborative work between ACAORN members to raise the profile of child and adolescent obesity research, both nationally and internationally. Queensland Health has agreed to an additional boost in funding to ACAORN for the period 2013-2014.
Governance and management
Louise Baur, Tony Okely and Jo Salmon are Directors of ACAORN and together with the ACAORN Secretary, forming the Executive. The Executive is responsible for the financial and administrative management of ACAORN, for reporting to the funding body and for making the final decisions on the functions of ACAORN. The Executive considers the views of ACAORN members carefully before making decisions.
ACAORN members
The members of ACAORN have significant track records in obesity, nutrition or physical activity research. The table below shows the members of ACAORN, and their research group.
Organisation
Deakin University
University of Sydney
Deakin University
Queensland Health
The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney; University of Sydney
WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific,Philippines
Monash University
University of Newcastle
University of Western Australia
Deakin University
Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne
Deakin University
University of Wollongong
University of Newcastle
Deakin University
Queensland University of Technology
University of Queensland
University of Western Australia
University of Technology, Sydney
University of Sydney
University of South Australia
University of Wollongong
Division of Research, The Children's Hospital at Westmead
Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne
The McCaughey Centre, University of Melbourne
University of Western Australia
University of Sydney
University of South Australia
University of Sydney
CSIRO Animal Food and Health Sciences
Deakin University
Mater Medical Research Institute and Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University
Deakin University
Deakin University
University of Sydney
University of Wollongong
University of Sydney
Deakin University
University of Otago
Deakin University
University of Queensland
University of Newcastle
Flinders University
Queensland University of Technology
Deakin University
University of Newcastle
University of South Australia
University of Wollongong
Auckland University of Technology
University of Wollongong
University of Adelaide
Flinders University
University of Newcastle
University of Sydney
Deakin University
Auckland University of Technology
Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne
Deakin University
University of Melbourne
Menzies Centre for Health Research, Darwin
School of Sports and Exercise; Massey University, New Zealand
University of South Australia
Deakin University
Flinders University
University of South Australia
University of Sydney
Deakin University
University of Otago, New Zealand
University of Otago, New Zealand
Deakin University
University of Queensland
Monash University
University of South Australia
Deakin University
Menzies Research Institute, University of Tasmania
Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne
The McCaughey Centre, University of Melbourne
Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne
University of Newcastle
NSW Health
Member
Prof Steven Allender
A/Prof Margaret Allman-Farinelli
Dr Lisa Barnett
Professor Jennifer Batch
Prof Louise Baur
Dr Colin Bell
Dr Leah Brennan
Dr Tracy Burrows
A/Prof Susan Byrne
A/Prof Karen Campbell
Dr Michele Campbell
Dr Alison Carver
Dr Dylan Cliff
Prof Clare Collins
Prof David Crawford
Prof Lynne Daniels
Prof Peter Davies
Dr Liz Davis
Dr Elizabeth Denney-Wilson
A/Prof Michael Dibley
A/Prof Jim Dollman
Prof Vicki Flood
A/Prof Sarah Garnett
Ms Kay Gibbons
A/Prof Lisa Gibbs
Prof Billie Giles-Corti
A/Prof Tim Gill
Dr Rebecca Golley
Dr Louise Hardy
Dr Gilly Hendrie
Dr Kylie Hesketh
Prof Andrew Hills
Dr Trina Hinkley
Dr Clare Hume
A/Prof Rachel Huxley
Dr Rachel Jones
Dr Amina Khambalia
Dr Kathleen Lacy
Dr Julie Lawrence
Dr Rachel Laws
A/Prof Gary Leong
A/Prof David Lubans
A/Prof Anthea Magarey
Dr Kimberley Mallan
A/Prof Sarah McNaughton
Prof Philip Morgan
Prof Kerin O'Dea
Prof Tony Okely
Dr Melody Oliver
Dr Anne-Maree Parrish
Dr Alexia Pena
Dr Rebecca Perry
Prof Ron Plotnikoff
Dr Anna Rangan
Dr Nicky Ridgers
Prof Elaine Rush
Dr Matthew Sabin
Prof Jo Salmon
A/Prof Andrea de Silva-Sanigorski
A/Prof Sue Sayers
Dr Sarah Shultz
Dr Natalie Parletta
Dr Alison Spence
A/Prof Nicola Spurrier
Dr Rebecca Stanley
Prof Katharine Steinbeck
Prof Boyd Swinburn
Prof Barry Taylor
A/Prof Rachael Taylor
A/Prof Anna Timperio
Prof Stewart Trost
Prof Helen Truby
Dr Margarita Tsiros
Dr Jenny Veitch
Prof Alison Venn
Prof Melissa Wake
Prof Elizabeth Waters
Dr Joanne Williams
Dr Luke Wolfenden
Dr Avigdor Zask