Founded and led by Professor Sandy Mandic, the Built Environment and Active Transport to School (Beats) Study has looked closely at the activity levels of young people in the city and the region for the past 10 years.
This included asking adolescents to self-report on their activity levels and health behaviour during two years of the Covid-19 pandemic in New Zealand (2021-22).
"The key finding of our research is that, despite all of the health promotion that was put in place, few adolescents met health guidelines during that time," Prof Mandic said.
Of the adolescents surveyed, only 23% met physical activity guidelines, 18% met screen time guidelines, and 27% met fruit and vegetable intake guidelines.
"Despite some observed improvements, the number of adolescents meeting guidelines for all three health behaviours considered remained very low overall — at 2%," Prof Mandic said.
"This reinforces the need for health education for adolescents that aims to improve physical activity levels, screen time, and dietary patterns."
The Beats Study also measured screen time among adolescents outside of school at five hours per day — divided into watching television (2 hours), playing computer games (1 and a-half hours), and using a computer for internet, homework and chatting (2 hours). This did not include cellphone use.
Professor Mandic visited Dunedin this week to lead a final Beats Research Programme seminar, held yesterday at the University of Otago’s Centre for Sustainability.
The seminar focused on the project management story of the 10-year Beats research journey, which ran from 2013-2023.
The award-winning, interdisciplinary and cross-sector research programme focused on examining many aspects of adolescents’ travel to school.
The research was done in collaboration with the Dunedin Secondary Schools Partnership, Dunedin City Council, University of Otago and Auckland University of Technology.
It involved pupils of all 12 Dunedin high schools.
Prof Mandic said it had provided valuable information for schools, city councils, and transport planners, and had suggested potential ways to encourage adolescents to use active transport to school and increase their physical activity levels generally.
It had also resulted in 40 scientific journal articles, and been discussed at international conferences and six Beats Symposia.
"For me personally, the Beats research programme has been by far the most rewarding, exciting and challenging professional endeavour that I have ever been part of," Prof Mandic said.
