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Contact Details

Phone
+64 21 479 556
Email
rachael.taylor@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
Research Professor, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Medicine – Dunedin, and Karitane Fellow in Early Childhood Obesity
Department
Department of Medicine (Dunedin)
Qualifications
BSc(Hons) PhD
Research summary
How sleep, diet, and activity affect weight management in children
Memberships
  • Secretary and Executive Member, Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society
  • Associated Editor, Pediatric Obesity
  • Expert Advisory Group on Childhood Obesity, Ministry of Health
  • Research-only representative, Divisional Research Committee

Research

Professor Rachael Taylor is the Karitane Fellow in Early Childhood Obesity. Rachael is also Head of the Department of Medicine and Director of the Edgar Diabetes and Obesity Research Centre, one of the University's flagship Research Centres.

"Developing and trialing different ways of tackling the worldwide problem of childhood obesity is a fascinating area to work in. New ideas and initiatives are constantly being developed which makes for an interesting and continually evolving area of science."

Rachael is interested in determining how sleep, diet, and physical activity can be manipulated to favourably affect body weight throughout the life cycle but particularly in childhood. Her work consists of observational studies and randomised controlled trials.

Current research includes:

  • Sleep: Validating new techniques for the measurement of 24-hour activity profiles in children, and mechanistic studies determining how inadequate sleep influences eating and activity behaviour during growth
  • BLISS (Baby-Led Introduction to Solids): To determine if using foods that infants can feed themselves encourages self-regulation of energy intake, and prevents the development of overweight (without detrimental effects on iron status and growth). 200 infants are participating in a two-year trial
  • Play: A study of 900 Otago and Auckland children which investigates whether changing school play space to encourage children to experience and manage risk affects physical activity, body weight, and bullying
  • POI (Prevention of Overweight in Infancy): A two-year trial investigating whether additional guidance around breastfeeding, food, activity and sleep can impact on the rate of weight gain in 800 infants. These participants will now be followed up to 5 years of age.

Publications

Galland, B., Taylor, R., Alansari, M., Signal, T. L., Oldehaver, J., Hetrick, S., & Edmonds, L. (2026). Multi-stakeholder perspectives on facilitators and barriers to later morning start times for senior high school students in Aotearoa New Zealand. Kōtuitui, 21(3), e70041. doi: 10.1002/kot2.70041 Journal - Research Article

Casale, M., Beck, K. L., Conlon, C. A., Te Morenga, L. A., Heath, A.-L. M., Taylor, R. W., Haszard, J. J., Daniels, L., McLean, N. H., Cox, A. M., … Katiforis, I., … Rowan, M., Bruckner, B. R., … von Hurst, P. R. (2026). Complementary feeding practices of Māori, Pacific, and other infants in Aotearoa New Zealand. Dietetics, 5(1), 18. doi: 10.3390/dietetics5010018 Journal - Research Article

Camp, J., Russell-Camp, T., Ellison, T., MacDonald, S., Fangupo, L., Haszard, J. J., Richards, R., & Taylor, R. W. (2026). Family rituals, sleep, and well-being in Moemoeā: A Māori-led intervention. Sleep Health. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2026.05.003 Journal - Research Article

Taylor, R., Fangupo, L., Russell-Camp, T., Ellison, T., Haszard, J., Richards, R., … Galland, B., & Camp, J. (2026). A culturally relevant sleep intervention for New Zealand families with pēpi aged 2 to 12 months: The Moemoeā factorial trial. Sleep Health. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2026.05.006 Journal - Research Article

Schmidt-Persson, J., Gejl, A. K., Philipsen, K. B., Sulstad Johansen, M., Mathiesen, J., Taylor, R., … Grøntved, A. (2026). Effects of reducing screen media use on mental health, sleep, physical activity, heart rate variability, and behavioral patterns in peergroups of young people: A study protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1186/s40359-026-04827-5 Journal - Research Other

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