Webinar: Parenting strategies to promote health and address lifestyle risk factors among teenagers

Dr Lily Davidson and Dr Katrina Champion, the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney.

1 hour webinar recording and handout, available on demand.

Presented by Dr Lily Davidson and Dr Katrina Champion, this webinar is for parents, school staff and anyone else seeking information about chronic health risk factors.

The ‘Big 6’ lifestyle risk factors for developing chronic health conditions for teenagers are:

• Alcohol use
• Smoking/vaping
• Sedentary screen time
• Unhealthy diet
• Physical inactivity
• Sleep quality

Parents, teachers and teenagers all play an important role in addressing these lifestyle risk factors during the critical developmental period of adolescence. This talk will discuss these factors and include practical, evidence-based strategies for parents to improve the ‘Big 6’ with their teenager.

The presentation is informed by insights from the ‘Health4Life Parents and Teens’ online program (www.parentsandteens.org.au), which was developed with health experts, parents and teens, and aims to equip parents who have teenage children (especially those experiencing socio-economic disadvantage) with practical, evidence-based strategies. This program builds upon the existing ‘Health4Life’ school-based, online program for adolescents, which also targets the ‘Big 6’, and was previously trialled with approximately 7000 adolescents across 71 Australian schools in NSW, QLD and WA.

This webinar will provide:

• An understanding of the ‘Big 6’ lifestyle risk factors
• Strategies for supporting young people to improve the ‘Big 6’
• Introduction to the Health4Life Parents and Teens program

This webinar was developed by Dr Lily Davidson and Dr Katrina Champion, the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, the University of Sydney. It was informed by a review of research evidence on this topic.

(Webinar conducted on 24/09/25)