Professor Michelle Miller and team consisting of Professor Anthony Maeder (Flinders Digital Health Research Centre), Dr Jacqui Miller and Dr Carly Moores were successful in their application for funding from the Heart Foundation Vanguard Grant scheme for 2018.

Overweight adolescents have increased CVD risk factors, which also track into adulthood. Lifestyle behaviours – including diet and activity – change markedly during adolescence and adolescence is a crucial time to intervene and prevent irreversible cardiovascular damage. However, there are few community lifestyle programs designed to treat adolescent overweight and technology-based interventions present an innovative and promising solution to address obesity in young people.

The Health Online for Teens (HOT) Project was developed in recognition of this significant evidence gap identified in the Evidence Check Review commissioned by the New South Wales Office of Preventive Health/Centre for Population Health and brokered by the Sax Institute.  Their application, one of the 28 funded from 140 applications, will fund study of the feasibility and acceptability of the HOT program in 2018.