Professor and leader of the Research group (16 people) Healthy Lifestyle in a Supporting Environment at the The Hague University of Applied Sciences. In my research group knowledge about lifestyle, behaviour change, design methodology, technology, education and health is combined to develop innovative products, programs or services that consciously or subconsciously changes youth’ lifestyle behavior.

Vormgeven van de transitie van een onderzoeksplatform naar kenniscentrum onder aansturing van de portefeuillehouder onderzoek van het CvB (naast de reguliere lectoraatswerkzaamheden)

Voorzitten promotiecommissie, doorontwikkelen van promovendibeleid, beoordelen en monitoren van duale promotie- en post-doc trajecten op De Haagse Hogeschool.

Begeleiding van diverse promovendi van verschillende universiteiten (Universiteit Maastricht, Vrije Universiteit, Universiteit Utrecht, Universiteit Leiden) bij het uitvoeren van onderzoek en het schrijven van hun proefschrift op het gebied van jeugd, (objectief meten van) bewegen, fitheid, motorische vaardigheden en beweegvriendelijke omgeving van kinderen.

Conducting and leading multidisciplinary and innovative research projects in the field of physical activity and health in children and adolescents for government, healthcare providers, insurers, healthcare professionals and consumers. Examples: Make Me Move, Playground of the Future and Activity-friendly neighborhoods for children. More information: http://www.tno.nl/gezondewijk

PhD degree in Medicine.Dissertation: Activity-friendly neighborhoods for children. Measurement of physical activity and environmental correlates. Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, 2009.With the current epidemic of overweight and obesity among youth and the decline in their physical activity, promoting an active lifestyle has become a public health priority. In order to develop effective prevention and intervention strategies designed to encourage an active lifestyle and discourage a sedentary lifestyle among children and adolescents, it is essential to gain a thorough understanding of their physical activity patterns. Physical activity is a complex behavior which is difficult to measure, especially among youth. This thesis aims to provide an insight into the assessment of physical activity among children and adolescents, and to identify characteristics of the Dutch built environment that can encourage or discourage an active lifestyle among children. In the first part of the thesis (chapter 2-5), four studies on the assessment of physical activity among youth are presented. In the second part of the thesis (chapters 6 and 7), the association between characteristics of the Dutch built environment and children’s physical activity level was examined. The findings are based on the Spatial Planning And Children’s Exercise (SPACE) study, a survey on the physical activity level of children from ten disadvantaged Dutch urban neighborhoods conducted by TNO Quality of Life in 2004-2005. Interested in a copy? Email to: info-zorg@tno.nl

Research assistant on a study examining motor skills of preschool children.