Professor John Reilly
Physical Activity and Health
Personal statement
I joined the University in 2011 as John Anderson Research Leader and Professor of Physical Activity & Public Health Science. I was formerly Professor of Paediatric Energy Metabolism at the University of Glasgow.
My research work focuses on: prevention of child and adolescent obesity worldwide; the consequences of obesity and low physical activity in children and adolescents globally; the development and consequences of sedentary behaviour during childhood and adolescence globally; global monitoring of physical activity , sedentary behaviour and sleep in children and adolescents. I have been involved in a range of national and international Knowledge Exchange projects, including the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance www.activehealthykids.org, WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (ECHO) https://www.who.int/end-childhood-obesity/en/ WHO Guideline Development Group on Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Sleep for the under 5’s https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/311664 • Chair of the UK Health Departments physical activity guidelines update for the Under 5’s https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/physical-activity-guidelines
Current Knowledge Exchange projects include:
FitBack Scotland- development of a system for national monitoring physical fitness in children and adolescents https://www.actify.org.uk/fitbackscot - Towards a Sustainable Monitoring System to Address the Physical Fitness Crisis in Scottish Children: FitBack Scotland (scottishinsight.ac.uk)
Active Healthy Kids Scotland Report Cards on COVID-19 Impacts (2024; funded by the ESRC -IAA) and Active Healthy Kids Scotland Report Card (2026) www.activehealthykidsscotland.co.uk
Early Childhood Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Sleep in Malawi: Impact Activities from Current Research and Co-creation of Future Research Plans with Stakeholders in Malawi. International Science Partnerships –Scottish Funding Council Funded 2024-25.
Publications
I have almost 400 peer-reviewed papers with an h index (December 2024) of 93 (Web of Science) and 103 (Google Scholar). Recent publications include the following:
https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2024-108984
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-024-02104-2
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2824006
https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-024-01650-2h
https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2023-0711.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2024.03.006
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2024.100869
https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdae022
https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2023-0679
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114523000387
https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12628
Prize And Awards
- Research Excellence Award
- Recipient
- 2024
- Research Excellence Award
- Recipient
- 2023
Publications
- Evaluating school-based obesity prevention interventions in 6- to 12-year-old children : a scoping review of all reported outcomes and expert consultation
- Altenburg Teatske M, de Vries Lotte W, Grooten Iris J, van 't Hooft Janneke, van Deutekom Arend W, Roseboom Tessa, van den Akker Erica, Duncan Michael, Ekelund Ulf, Reilly John J, Reilly Lisa, Stafleu Annette, Standage Martyn, Chinapaw Mai J M, Harrington Deirdre M
- Obesity Reviews Vol 27 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.70125
- Socioeconomic inequalities in physical activity among children and adolescents in the UK and Ireland: a scoping review mapping evidence from 2015 to 2025
- Donnelly Samantha, Carlin Angela, Reilly John J, Mackintosh Kelly A, Basterfield Laura, O'Kane Maria
- BMJ Public Health Vol 4 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjph-2026-005513
- Results from Scotland’s 2026 report card on physical activity and health for children and youth
- Bardid Farid, Carballo Mia, Tomaz Simone A, Craig Leone C A, Robertson Jenni, Stewart Cameron, Inchley Joanna, Reilly John
- 2026 Health-Enhancing Physical Activity Europe Conference (2026)
- Recruitment in global surveillance of movement behaviours in the early years : findings from the SUNRISE Study
- Miller Hollie, Woodside Andrew, Chong Kar Hau, Tremblay Mark, Okely Anthony, Maddren Claudia, Reilly John, Bardid Farid
- 2026 Health-Enhancing Physical Activity Europe Conference (2026)
- Treasured but not measured? Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical literacy in children and adolescents
- Reilly John, Robertson Kerry, Bardid Farid
- 2026 Health-Enhancing Physical Activity Europe Conference (2026)
- Scotland Moves
- McCrorie Paul, Reilly John, Bardid Farid, Paul David
- (2026)
Teaching
I teach on the BSc Sport & Physical Activity degree, mainly in the Physical Activity & Health classes (e.g. Sports Nutrition), and supervise students doing mini-research projects in 3rd year and larger research dissertation projects in 4th year.
Research Interests
See Personal Statement above for Research Interest.
A number of recent research projects have been included in news articles in The Conversation- links below
https://theconversation.com/obesity-is-more-common-than-you-think-heres-why-131341
https://theconversation.com/why-fidgeting-could-be-good-for-your-childs-health-122346
Professional Activities
- New partnership aims to improve health and wellbeing from the earliest years
- Contributor
- 8/9/2026
- In Conversation with Canada's ParticipACTION
- Host
- 14/8/2026
- Active Healthy Kids Scotland at Summer of Sport
- Contributor
- 8/7/2026
- Summer of Sport
- Contributor
- 8/7/2026
- Children need to ‘move more, sleep more and use screens less’
- Contributor
- 17/6/2026
- Move for Brain Health: Insights from the 2026 Active Healthy Kids Scotland Report Card
- Speaker
- 16/6/2026
Projects
- Providing Accessible Local Data on the True Prevalence of Childhood Obesity
- Reilly, John (Principal Investigator) Bardid, Farid (Co-investigator) Stewart, Ryan (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2026 - 23-Jan-2026
- Interactive Dashboard for Better Public Health Insights: Active Healthy Kids Scotland
- Stewart, Ryan (Principal Investigator) Bardid, Farid (Principal Investigator) Reilly, John (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2026 - 14-Jan-2026
- Investigating 24-hour movement behaviours in young people with Intellectual Disabilities in Scotland
- Muirhead, Fiona (Principal Investigator) Bardid, Farid (Co-investigator) Crawford, Megan (Co-investigator) Donnachie, Craig (Co-investigator) Reilly, John (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 01-Jan-2026
- Move for brain health: Active Healthy Kids Scotland Report Card
- Bardid, Farid (Principal Investigator) Reilly, John (Co-investigator) Carballo, Mia (Researcher)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 01-Jan-2026
- 24-hour Movement Behaviours, Child Development, and Families in the Early Years: SUNRISE Scotland
- John, Jessica (Researcher) Bardid, Farid (Principal Investigator) Reilly, John (Co-investigator) Henderson, Marion (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2028
- Digital Childhood: Reducing Health Risks of Screen Time in Early Childhood in Europe
- Reilly, John (Principal Investigator) Bardid, Farid (Co-investigator)
- 30-Jan-2025 - 29-Jan-2026
Contact
Professor
John
Reilly
Physical Activity and Health
Email: john.j.reilly@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 4235