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Contact Details

Phone
64 3 479 7222
Email
debra.waters@otago.ac.nz
Position
Professor and Director of Gerontology Research
Department
Department of Medicine (Dunedin)
Qualifications
BS PhD
Research summary
Body composition and physical function during ageing

Research

  • Determinants and prevalence of sarcopenia and sarcopenic-obesity.
  • Impact of sarcopenia and sarcopenic-obesity on physical function.
  • Community-based exercise interventions to maintain physical function during ageing.

Publications

Walker, X., Abey-Nesbit, R., Kayes, J., Bergler, H. U., Cheung, G., Waters, D., … Jamieson, H. (2026). The epidemiological profile of older adults of Pacific Peoples ethnicity in New Zealand assessed for home support and aged residential care. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 45(2), e70143. doi: 10.1111/ajag.70143 Journal - Research Article

Silva Pelicioni, P. H., Davies, J. W. T., Still, A., Waters, D. L., Anderson, T., & Hale, L. (2026). Assessing balance and walking of people with Parkinson's disease via telehealth. Disability & Rehabilitation, 48(7), 2051-2061. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2025.2546556 Journal - Research Article

Cabral, L. L. P., Meredith-Jones, K., Browne, R. A. V., Freire, Y. A., Vlietstra, L., Waters, D. L., … Costa, E. C. (2025). Associations of step counts and peak step cadence with DXA-derived total body, abdominal, and visceral fat in older adults. Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2025.10.025 Journal - Research Article

Gale, J. T., Peddie, M. C., Gerrard, D., Osborne, H., Russell-Camp, T., Waters, D. L., … Walker, X. J., & Vlietstra, L. (2025). 24-h movement patterns: Sleep, sedentary behaviour and physical activity of older retired Olympic and Commonwealth Games athletes: An observational study. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 44(4), e70097. doi: 10.1111/ajag.70097 Journal - Research Article

Freire, Y. A., Browne, R. A. V., Cabral, L. L. P., Rosa-Souza, F. J., de Melo Silva, R., de Lucena Alves, C. P., … Waters, D. L., … Costa, E. C. (2025). Accelerometer-measured sedentary time accumulation patterns and cardiometabolic risk severity in community-dwelling older adults: A cross-sectional study. BMC Geriatrics, 25, 631. doi: 10.1186/s12877-025-06283-z Journal - Research Article

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