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From placenta to lunchbox: mothers, the media and fat kidsH. Malik1*, N. Szetu1 & T. Olds1

1University Of South Australia, School Of Health Science

This study reviewed media coverage of childhood overweight and obesity in major Australian newspapers over the last ten years. One dominant theme was the responsibility attributed to parents, almost exclusively mothers, for their child’s obesity. This theme reflects a neoliberal conception of government in which, in contrast to the welfare state, power is devolved to individuals or families as “rational choice actors” in a self-regulating market system. Guided by information provided by an army of experts, mothers supposedly make free and informed choices about diet and exercise for their children. The obverse of this empowerment of mothers is “responsibilisation”, with mothers being blamed for causing obesity in their children through “bad choices” ranging from overweight during pregnancy to the contents of lunchboxes. The informed and responsible behaviours of good mothers are contrasted to neglectful “refrigerator mothers” made soft by welfarism (“this bubble-wrap generation”), creating a breed of “lard-arsed youngsters whose parents let them eat like pigs”. Headlines such as: “CSIRO puts blame on parents for fat children” are becoming increasingly common. The moral castigation of mothers occurs in a risk management society where small indulgences are seen as the first step in exponentially “skyrocketing” obesity, where children are at risk of “piling on kilos as they quickly become the next obesity statistic.” The policy implications of this neoliberal world view include reluctance to legislatively restrict advertising to children, resistance to canteen regulation, and rejection of taxes on certain types of foods.

Long term outcomes of serious sport and active recreation related injuries admitted to Level 1 trauma centres.N. Andrew1*, B. Gabbe1, O. Williamson1, M. Richardson2 & P. Cameron3

1Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University2Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne3Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University and the National Trauma Research Institute, The Alfred, Melbourne

Few studies have examined the long term consequences of serious sport and active recreation injuries, which is the primary aim of this study. Adults admitted to either of the two Level 1 trauma centres in Victoria, for a sport and active recreation injury between August 2003 and March 2006, and captured by the Victorian Orthopaedic Outcomes Registry, were followed-up at 6 months post-injury. The major outcome of interest was health-related quality of life (HRQL) measured using the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12). Scores for the Mental Component Summary (MCS-12) and the Physical Component Summary (PCS-12) scales were compared to population norms. 537 participants with sport and active recreation injuries were registered by VOTOR. The median age of participants was 32 years and most were male (79%). 33% were injured participating in wheeled sports, followed by motor sports (20%), football codes (12%), equestrian sports (7%) and ice and snow sports (6%). At 6 months post-injury, the age-adjusted physical health (PCS-12) of participants was significantly lower than population norms (p<0.001) despite mental health (MCS-12) scores above population norms (p=0.002). Sporting groups with the worst PCS-12 outcomes were the wheeled, motor and equestrian sports. The findings of this large prospective cohort study highlight the fact that sport and active recreation injuries result in significant long term physical, but not mental, morbidity. This information is useful for setting priorities for injury prevention, research and policy.

A snapshot of paediatric sports injuries at three types of medical practiceG. Naughton1*, C. Broderick2,3, N. Van Doorn2, G. Brown3,4, L. Lam3,4 & C. Finch5

1Centre of Physical Activity Across the Lifespan, Australian Catholic University2Faculty Of Medicine, University Of New South Wales3Children’s Hospital, Westmead, New South Wales4Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney5University of Ballarat, Victoria

The Paediatric Sporting Injuries Study in New South Wales was a prospective surveillance study involving 250 sporting injuries in young people (63% male) aged 5 to 16 years. Sports-related injuries data were collected from three types of medical practice; an emergency department at a paediatric hospital (n = 1 site and 103 patients), sports medicine consultants (n = 5 sites and 91 patients) and general practitioners with large paediatric patient lists (n = 5 sites and 56 patients). Surveillance involved a modified survey for parents and practitioners that was coordinated by research supporters at each site. In 78% of cases, the injury was sustained without protective equipment being worn on the injured body part and 39% of injuries resulted in greater than 21 days of modified or no activity. Referrals for X-rays followed 60% of presentations. Patients reporting more than 8 hours training per week most frequently presented to sports medicine specialists (56%). In contrast, 58% of young people training less than 3 hr/wk reported to the emergency department. More females (50%) than males (36%) presented to sports medicine practitioners, but more males (41%) than females (29%) presented to the emergency department. Similar proportions of males and females (22%) presented with injuries to general practitioners (Chi Square p=0.07). No gender differences were observed for severity of injury and reported hours of participation. A focus on safety for the less active young people and the promotion of protective equipment for sports participants are required to attenuate injury and injury severity.

Rehabilitation programme for alleviating anterior knee pain in adolescentsM. Coetsee1* & J. Phillips1

1University Of Zululand

Anterior knee pain is a common condition amongst adolescents and frequently interferes with physical activity. The condition is often self-limiting but can take up to 2 years to resolve. This study determined the efficacy of a three week rehabilitation programme aimed at stabilising the knee joint by stretching and strengthening the involved musculature and improving proprioception and dynamic stability of the lower limbs to alleviate anterior knee pain in adolescents. The programme consisted of 5 contact sessions of isokinetic knee flexion/extension exercises and proprioception exercises on a wobble board and mini-trampoline as well as 7 home sessions of lower limb stretching and strengthening exercises. The programme resulted in significantly (p<0.01) reduced subjective ratings of pain (Visual Analogue Scale) and disability (Patient-Specific Functional Scale) in the experimental group (N=18) who underwent the programme compared to the control group (N=12) who did not follow the programme and showed no improvement. In a re-test one month after completing the program the experimental group retained these improvements. The above was mirrored by significant improvements (p<0.01) in strength (Quadriceps 11.5% and Hamstrings 14.2%), proprioception as measured in time unbalanced on a wobble board (49.9%) and dynamic balance as measured in the Bass Test (37.5%) in the experimental group against no improvement in the control group. This study provides a very successful conservative treatment of short duration for alleviating anterior knee pain in adolescents allowing them to continue with physical activity thereby avoiding long term rest or surgical procedures which could be detrimental to growth and development.

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