Professor John Reilly

Physical Activity for 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: interventions for the 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 and sedentary behaviour in children and adolescents. I am involved in a range of national and international Knowledge Exchange projects. Recent KE projects include • leading the ‘Active Healthy Kids Scotland Report Card’ (www.activehealthykidsscotland.co.uk), • international executive committee of the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance (www.activehealthykids.org) • membership of the Science and Evidence Group for the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (ECHO) https://www.who.int/end-childhood-obesity/en/ • membership of the 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 I have over 300 peer-reviewed papers with an h index (October 2018) of 58 (Web of Science) and 74 (Google Scholar). Recent publications include the following: Longitudinal changes in moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity in children and adolescents: systematic review and meta-analysis. MA Farooq, AM Gibson, X Janssen, AR Hughes, M, A Martin, JJ Reilly. Obes Rev 2020; 21: e12953. Energy expenditure associated with posture transitions in pre-school children. KL Downing, X Janssen, DP Cliff, AD Okely, JJ Reilly. PLoS ONE 2019; 14 (4) e0215169 Non-linear association

Expertise

Has expertise in:

    has expertise in:

    • childhood obesity: aetiology; diagnosis; prevention; treatment; consequences
    • objective measurement of physical activity and sedentary behaviour
    • longitudinal (birth cohort) studies, in particular with ALSPAC and GMS in the UK
    • systematic reviewing: evidence appraisal, and evidence - based guideline development
    • Physical activity and sedentary behaviour interventions in children and adolescents

Publications

Associations between physical activity and mental health and behaviour in early adolescence
Booth Josephine N, Ness Andy R, Joinson Carol, Tomporowski Phillip D, Boyle James M E, Leary Sam D, Reilly John J
Mental Health and Physical Activity Vol 24 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2022.100497
Moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity during school hours in a representative sample of 10–11-year-olds in Scotland
Wong Lan Sum, Reilly John J, McCrorie Paul, Harrington Deirdre M
Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol 26, pp. 120-124 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2022.10.014
Validation of mid-arm circumference for surveillance of obesity in African adolescent girls and adult women
Nashandi H, Monyeki MA, Reilly JJ
British Journal of Nutrition (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114523000387
Prevalence and novel risk factors for vitamin D insufficiency in elite athletes : systematic review and meta-analysis
Harju Tilda, Gray Blair, Mavroedi Alexandra, Farooq Abdulaziz, Reilly John Joseph
European Journal of Nutrition Vol 61, pp. 3857-3871 (2022)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-022-02967-z
Validity of low-cost measures for global surveillance of physical activity in pre-school children : the SUNRISE validation study
Mwase-Vuma Tawonga W, Janssen Xanne, Okely Anthony D, Tremblay Mark S, Draper Catherine E, Florindo Alex Antonio, Tanaka Chiaki, Koh Denise, Hongyan Guan, Tang Hong K, Chong Kar Hau, Löf Marie, Hossain Mohammad Sorowar, Cross Penny, Chathurangana PW Prasad, Reilly John J
Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol 25, pp. 1002-1007 (2022)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2022.10.003
Comparison of several prediction equations using skinfold thickness for estimating percentage body fat vs. body fat percentage determined by BIA in 6-8-year-old South African children : The BC-IT Study
Moeng-Mahlangu Lynn, Monyeki Makama A, Reilly John J, Kruger Herculina S
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol 19 (2022)
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114531

More publications

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

My research work focuses on: interventions for the prevention of child and adolescent obesity worldwide; the consequences of obesity and low physical activity in children and adolescents (including impacts on academic attainment); the development  and consequences of sedentary behaviour during childhood and adolescence in low-middle income countries as well as high income countries.

 I have over 340 peer-reviewed papers with an h index (August 2020) of 65 (Scopus) and 83 (Google Scholar), and a career FWCI of 3.2.Recent publications can be found in the Personal Statement. A number of recent research projects have been included in news articles in The Conversation- links below

https://theconversation.com/rewild-your-kids-why-playing-outside-should-be-a-post-pandemic-priority-156077

https://theconversation.com/as-schools-reopen-will-this-be-the-least-fit-generation-of-schoolchildren-ever-145492

https://theconversation.com/active-commuting-could-make-childrens-return-to-school-better-for-their-health-and-the-planet-133094

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

https://theconversation.com/why-screen-time-for-babies-children-and-adolescents-needs-to-be-limited-110630

Professional activities

Active Healthy Kids Scotland (Event)
Member
2013
WHO Geneva Working Group (External organisation)
Member
2013
Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (Event)
Member
2012
IAEA (Event)
Advisor
2012
BMBF (External organisation)
Member
2009
Finnish Academy of Sciences (External organisation)
Member
2009

More professional activities

Projects

Movement behaviours (physical activity, screen time, and sleep) in early childhood in Malawi
Reilly, John (Principal Investigator) Janssen, Xanne (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2021 - 30-Jan-2024
Movement behaviours (physical activity, screen time, and sleep) in early childhood in Malawi.
Reilly, John (Principal Investigator) Janssen, Xanne (Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2021 - 29-Jan-2024
Development and evaluation of active and outdoor play as a strategy for increasing physical activity of children.
Hughes, Adrienne (Co-investigator) Reilly, John (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2016 - 30-Jan-2018
Prevention of obesity, diabetes and some cancers in early childhood: translation of the 'ToyBox' pre-school intervention to Scotland
Reilly, John (Principal Investigator) Gibson, Ann-Marie (Co-investigator) Hughes, Adrienne (Co-investigator)
Prevention of obesity, diabetes and some cancers in early childhood: translation of the 'ToyBox' pre-school intervention to Scotland
01-Jan-2016 - 30-Jan-2019
Active Healthy Kids Report Card
Reilly, John (Principal Investigator)
04-Jan-2016 - 30-Jan-2016
Healthy Habits Happy Homes: Translation of an Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Intervention to Socio-economically Deprived Families in Scotland : 3 year studentship for Kyla Booth
Reilly, John (Principal Investigator) Gibson, Ann-Marie (Co-investigator) Hughes, Adrienne (Co-investigator)
3 year studentship for Kyla Booth - Healthy Habits Happy Homes: Translation of an Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Intervention to Socio-economically Deprived Families in Scotland
01-Jan-2015 - 30-Jan-2019

More projects