20 November 2019
The UniSA life sciences researcher who identified what makes up the “Goldilocks” day of human activity for good health and described “takeaway sports” such as skateboarding as the next big thing, Professor Tim Olds, has been named in the Web of Science Group Clarivate Most Cited Academics of 2019.
Expert in time use, anthropometry and the interplay between fitness, fatness and physical activity and its influence on health outcomes, Prof Olds’ latest research interests revolve around 24-hour activity patterns and how they influence health and wellbeing in children and adults.
“When people start a new exercise or activity regime, they have to give up time from something else in their lives,” he says.
“We have identified there are three ‘time reservoirs’ that adults dip into when they need time for some new activity - time spent sleeping, watching TV or doing chores – and there are health consequences when you borrow time from those reservoirs to complete your new activity – some good and some bad.
“The research is also showing more clearly than ever, that there is a best and worst day in terms of activity for both adults and children.
“For adults, a ‘Goldilocks’ day, where the balance between rest and activity is just right, comprises six to nine hours sleep, nine hours or less of sitting and the rest of your time on your feet.”
“The worst day for your health – will have you sleeping less than six hours, sitting more than 13 hours and less than four hours moving.”
Prof Olds says he is pleased to see research from his team so widely recognised globally.
“This field of research, looking at how lifestyle and activity influence every aspect of our health and wellness across our lifetime is quite rich and I’m lucky to work with a team of extremely talented researchers who are providing a strong evidence base for the relationships between activity and physical and mental health outcomes.”
While the number of Australian researchers to make the list has more than tripled in the past six years academics, Australian researchers still make up just 4.4 per cent of the world’s most cited academics.
This result places Professor Olds’ research in the top one per cent of most cited works in the field of social sciences. The full list of cited researchers can be found here
Media contact: Michèle Nardelli phone: +61 418 823 673 or +61 8 8302 0966 email: Michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
