Child health experts launch GenHEART to tackle Australia's obesity crisis

Heart health, diet, exercise and sleep will be targeted under a multi-pronged strategy by child health experts to address Australia's obesity crisis. 

GenHEART, spearheaded by Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI), is a coordinated plan over 10 years to improve long-term wellbeing and reverse alarming obesity trends among children and their parents.

Health experts across cardiometabolic health, sleep, obesity, nutrition, physical activity, behavioural science and health economics from Victoria, Western Australia, NSW and Tasmania have come together under the bold vision.

With funding, the multifaceted intervention, initially involving four trials, will start in 2027. The trials will draw on data and participants from Generation Australia, which brings together two of the largest, most detailed projects of their kind – Generation Victoria (GenV), involving 50,000 children, and ORIGINS, which follows 10,000 children and their families in Western Australia. 

MCRI Professor Melissa Wake, who will help oversee Generation Australia, said GenHEART was a once in a generation opportunity to finally the shift the dial on rising obesity rates.

In Australia, cardiovascular diseases affect one in 15 people. Cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney conditions cost over $23 billion each year in healthcare spending.

Good heart health in childhood is crucial to reducing the risk of chronic disease across a person's lifetime.

We know the risk factors underlying cardiometabolic diseases such as unhealthy weight gain, high blood pressure, low physical activity and poor sleep often begin in the primary school years.

These early warning signs predict the likelihood of heart attacks, stroke, type 2 diabetes and kidney disease in adulthood and are also key drivers of dementia, cancer and poor mental health.

Sadly, once established, these patterns are hard to reverse. Prevention programs have failed to make a difference largely due to either being too small, short-term or narrowly focussed. But GenHEART is designed to address all these issues, simultaneously, via a suite of coordinated prevention trials at whole population scale, using Generation Australia's reach and infrastructure."

Professor Melissa Wake, MCRI

The four trials, each answering a key prevention question, include:

GenSLEEP. Can bringing a child's bedtime forward by 30 minutes reduce unhealthy weight gain and improve mental health?

GenWEIGHT. Can weight loss drugs for parents with obesity reshape a household's food habits, helping to break intergenerational cycles of obesity?

GenPRESSURE. Can blood pressure checks at primary school reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease?

GenMOVE. Can changing school physical activities to focus on strength and lean-mass development lead to better heart health?

Research led by MCRI in 2025 found that half of children and adolescents in Australia are forecast to be overweight or obese by 2050. But it noted with significant increases predicated within the next five years, urgent action now could turn the tide on the public health crisis. 

Megan, a mum of three, has her youngest son, Teddy, 2, enrolled in GenV. She said as a nurse she understood the importance of comprehensive and interlinked data to help researchers explore the best clinical practices.

"Having two of my three children with food allergies, I know how vital research is towards making a difference and improving treatments," she said. "If we can also instill healthy habits in our children early, the benefits will stay with them for a lifetime."

The Generation Australia cohort will be progressively invited to take part in GenHEART as their child enters primary school.

"The four trials will be carefully sequenced across childhood," Professor Wake said. "This approach allows interventions to be introduced at developmentally appropriate stages, while insights from earlier trials inform those that follow.

"Children and families may be assigned to receive one or more interventions or to continue with usual health advice. This will enable researchers to determine which approaches are most effective and at what stages of development.

"While all interventions are designed to be scalable and feasible at a population level, they extend beyond child-focused programs. Some target parents, others focus on family routines and environments, and some involve screening and broader health system responses. This approach reflects the many factors that shape lifelong heart health."

GenHEART research partners include The Kids Research Institute Australia in Perth, UNSW Sydney, University of Melbourne, Edith Cowan University in Perth, Deakin University, University of Tasmania, Monash University and the George Institute for Global Health in Sydney.