Dr Helen Parker
School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health
Dr Helen Parker is a dietitian dual qualified in Exercise & Sport Science, and is an Academic Fellow in the Discipline of Exercise & Sport Science, School of Health Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney. She was awarded her PhD in 2015, which explored the potential for omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the management of fatty liver and cardiovascular disease risk. Helen's current research foci stem from the influence of body composition on health, particularly body fat, and her research explores the use of behaviour change, diet and exercise for the management of health. Current research projects include the tailoring of supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids for optimising health benefits; smartphone apps and gamification for behaviour change in cardiac patients; and psychological effects of obesity and weight stigma on weight management in young women. Helen was awarded her Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies in 2019 and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Helen is an active member of the nutrition science community in Australia and currently chairs the Sydney Regional Group of the Nutrition Society of Australia.
Dr Parker teaches into the Bachelor of Applied Science (Exericse & Sport Science), Bachelor of Applied Science (Exercise Physiology), and provides guest lectures for Bachelor of Applied Science (Physiotherapy), Master of Nursing, and Master of Nutrition & Dietetics programs at the University of Sydney.
Units of study (coordination/co-coordination or substantive teaching input):
EXSS1037 Introduction to Exercise Science
EXSS2040 Introduction to Body Composition Assessment
EXSS2035 Physical Activity and Society
EXSS3071 Nutrition for Health and Exercise
Improving secondary prevention in cardiovascular disease:
Gamification of smartphone apps for secondary prevention: the MyHeartMate study (funded by the Heart Foundation of Australia Vanguard Grant)
Women's health - nutrition and body composition:
The everyBODY study: targeting weight bias internalisation for optimising weight management in young women with obesity (funded by Rotary Mental Health Australia)
Chrononutrition for weight management in young women (funded by the Lifespan Research Network, in partnership with Lite 'n' Easy)
Body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness across the lifespan
Nutrition Society of Australia (NSA)
Dietitians Australia (DA)
Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society (ANZOS)
Nutrition Society (of the UK)
Australian Cardiac Rehabilitation Association (ACRA)
International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK)
2023 Cardiovascular Research Network NSW Professional Development Award
2021 Charles Perkins Centre CPC EMCR Professional Development Award
2020 Sydney Food and Nutrition Network EMCR Seed Grant
2020 Sydney Early and Mid-Career Academics Network (SEMCAN) Pitch Prize, first place
2020 Sydney Women's Leadership Program (Academic Cohort), University of Sydney
2019 Faculty of Health Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award for Teaching (Early Career) Outstanding Teaching
2019 Best oral presentation, Charles Perkins Centre 5th Annual Early-Mid Career Research Symposium
2018 Award for Best Research Impact Statement in Exercise, Health and Performance; Physical Activity, Lifestyle, Ageing and Wellbeing Research Theme; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney
2018 Best oral presentation, Charles Perkins Centre 4th Annual Early-Mid Career Research Symposium
2018 Faculty of Health Sciences Pilot Open Access Funding Scheme
2018 Britton Craigie Fellowship, Faculty of Health Sciences
2014 Nutrition Society of Australia travel grant
2013 Nutrition Society of Australia travel grant
2012 Nutrition Society of Australia travel grant
2011 Highly commended, oral abstract presentation, International Conference on The Science of Nutrition in Medicine and Healthcare, Australia
2010 University of Sydney Postgraduate Research Award (PhD scholarship), University of Sydney
2010 Postgraduate Scholarship in Nutraceutical Research, University of Sydney
Publications
Journals
- Koemel, N., Senior, A., Benmarhnia, T., Holmes, A., Okada, M., Oulhote, Y., Parker, H., Shah, S., Simpson, S., Raubenheimer, D., Gill, T., Skilton, M., et al (2023). Diet Quality, Microbial Lignan Metabolites, and Cardiometabolic Health among US Adults. Nutrients, 15(6). [More Information]
- Young, I., Poobalan, A., Steinbeck, K., O'Connor, H., Parker, H. (2023). Distribution of energy intake across the day and weight loss: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Reviews, 24(3). [More Information]
- Young, I., Crino, N., Steinbeck, K., Parker, H. (2023). Eating Patterns of Young Women (18–25 y) with Overweight and Obesity: A Preliminary Investigation. Nutrients, 15(7). [More Information]
Conferences
- O'Dwyer, N., Cook, R., Donges, C., Parker, H., Garg, M., Steinbeck, K., Rooney, K., Franklin, J., O'Connor, H. (2016). Relationship between obesity and cognitive function in young normal weight and obese women. European Obesity Summit (EOS) - Joint Congress of EASOand IFSO-EC, Germany: S. Karger Verlag fur Medizin und Naturwissenschaften GmbH. [More Information]
- Cook, R., O'Dwyer, N., Donges, C., Parker, H., Garg, M., Steinbeck, K., Rooney, K., Franklin, J., O'Connor, H. (2016). Relationship of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid status with cognitive function in young normal weight and obese women. European Obesity Summit (EOS) - Joint Congress of EASOand IFSO-EC, Germany: S. Karger Verlag fur Medizin und Naturwissenschaften GmbH. [More Information]
- Parker, H., Cook, R., Donges, C., Cheng, H., Cox, E., O'Dwyer, N., Franklin, J., Steinbeck, K., Rooney, J., O'Connor, H. (2015). A clinical assessment tool to identify young women at increased risk of iron deficiency with or without anaemia. International Conference on Diet and Activity Methods, Brisbane: International Conference on Diet and Activity Methods.
2023
- Koemel, N., Senior, A., Benmarhnia, T., Holmes, A., Okada, M., Oulhote, Y., Parker, H., Shah, S., Simpson, S., Raubenheimer, D., Gill, T., Skilton, M., et al (2023). Diet Quality, Microbial Lignan Metabolites, and Cardiometabolic Health among US Adults. Nutrients, 15(6). [More Information]
- Young, I., Poobalan, A., Steinbeck, K., O'Connor, H., Parker, H. (2023). Distribution of energy intake across the day and weight loss: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Reviews, 24(3). [More Information]
- Young, I., Crino, N., Steinbeck, K., Parker, H. (2023). Eating Patterns of Young Women (18–25 y) with Overweight and Obesity: A Preliminary Investigation. Nutrients, 15(7). [More Information]
2022
- Armstong, A., Jungbluth Rodriguez, K., Sabag, A., Mavros, Y., Parker, H., Keating, S., Johnson, N. (2022). Effect of aerobic exercise on waist circumference in adults with overweight or obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Reviews, 23(8). [More Information]
2021
- Davis, A., Parker, H., Gallagher, R. (2021). Gamified applications for secondary prevention in patients with high cardiovascular disease risk: A systematic review of effectiveness and acceptability. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 30(19-20), 3001-3010. [More Information]
- Parker, H., Gallagher, R., Duffield, C., Ding, D., Sibbritt, D., Perry, L. (2021). Occupational and Leisure-Time Physical Activity Have Different Relationships With Health: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study of Working Nurses. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 18(12), 1495-1502. [More Information]
- Cox, E., Cook, R., O'Dwyer, N., Donges, C., Parker, H., Cheng, H., Steinbeck, K., Franklin, J., O'Connor, H. (2021). The relationship between habitual physical activity, sitting time, and cognitive function in young adult women. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 18(9), 1082-1087. [More Information]
2020
- Young, I., Parker, H., Cook, R., O'Dwyer, N., Garg, M., Steinbeck, K., Cheng, H., Donges, C., Franklin, J., O'Connor, H. (2020). Association between obesity and omega-3 status in healthy young women. Nutrients, 12(5), 1-10. [More Information]
- Gallagher, R., Parker, H., Zhang, L., Kirkness, A., Roach, K., Belshaw, J., Glinatsis, H., Gallagher, P., Neubeck, L. (2020). Target Audience and Preferences Related to an Australian Coronary Heart Disease Specific Mobile App: A Mixed Methods Study. Heart, Lung, and Circulation, 29(5), 696-702. [More Information]
- Crino, N., Parker, H., Gifford, J., Lau, K., Greenfield, E., Donges, C., O'Dwyer, N., Steinbeck, K., O'Connor, H. (2020). What do young women with obesity want from a weight management program? Eating and Weight Disorders, 25(5), 1303-1309. [More Information]
2019
- Turton, J., Brinkworth, G., Field, R., Parker, H., Rooney, K. (2019). An evidence-based approach to developing low-carbohydrate diets for type 2 diabetes management: A systematic review of interventions and methods. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 21(2), 2513-2525. [More Information]
- Gallagher, R., Chow, C., Parker, H., Neubeck, L., Celermajer, D., Redfern, J., Tofler, G., Buckley, T., Schumacher, T., Ferry, C., Whitley, A., Figtree, G., et al (2019). Design and rationale of the MyHeartMate study: a randomised controlled trial of a game-based app to promote behaviour change in patients with cardiovascular disease. BMJ Open, 9(5), 1-7. [More Information]
- Parker, H., Cohn, J., O'Connor, H., Garg, M., Caterson, I., George, J., Johnson, N. (2019). Effect of Fish Oil Supplementation on Hepatic and Visceral Fat in Overweight Men: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Nutrients, 11(2), 1-15. [More Information]
2018
- Young, I., Parker, H., Rangan, A., Prvan, T., Cook, R., Donges, C., Steinbeck, K., O'Dwyer, N., Cheng, H., Franklin, J., O'Connor, H. (2018). Association between haem and non-haem iron intake and serum Ferritin in healthy young women. Nutrients, 10(1), 1-13. [More Information]
2017
- Keating, S., Hackett, D., Parker, H., Way, K., O'Connor, H., Salis (nee Sainsbury), A., Baker, M., Chuter, V., Caterson, I., George, J., Johnson, N. (2017). Effect of resistance training on liver fat and visceral adiposity in adults with obesity: A randomized controlled trial. Hepatology Research, 47(7), 622-631. [More Information]
- Cook, R., O'Dwyer, N., Parker, H., Donges, C., Cheng, H., Steinbeck, K., Cox, E., Franklin, J., Garg, M., Rooney, K., O'Connor, H. (2017). Iron deficiency anemia, not iron deficiency, is associated with reduced attention in healthy young women. Nutrients, 9(11), 1-13. [More Information]
- Keating, S., Parker, H., Hickman, I., Gomersall, S., Wallen, M., Coombes, J., Macdonald, G., George, J., Johnson, N. (2017). NAFLD in clinical practice: Can simple blood and anthropometric markers be used to detect change in liver fat measured by 1H-MRS? Liver International, 37(12), 1907-1915. [More Information]
2016
- Keating, S., Parker, H., Pavey, T., Baker, M., Caterson, I., George, J., Johnson, N. (2016). Objectively Quantified Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Predicting Visceral Adiposity and Liver Fat. Journal of Obesity, 2016, 1-10. [More Information]
- O'Dwyer, N., Cook, R., Donges, C., Parker, H., Garg, M., Steinbeck, K., Rooney, K., Franklin, J., O'Connor, H. (2016). Relationship between obesity and cognitive function in young normal weight and obese women. European Obesity Summit (EOS) - Joint Congress of EASOand IFSO-EC, Germany: S. Karger Verlag fur Medizin und Naturwissenschaften GmbH. [More Information]
- Cook, R., O'Dwyer, N., Donges, C., Parker, H., Garg, M., Steinbeck, K., Rooney, K., Franklin, J., O'Connor, H. (2016). Relationship of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid status with cognitive function in young normal weight and obese women. European Obesity Summit (EOS) - Joint Congress of EASOand IFSO-EC, Germany: S. Karger Verlag fur Medizin und Naturwissenschaften GmbH. [More Information]
2015
- Parker, H., Cook, R., Donges, C., Cheng, H., Cox, E., O'Dwyer, N., Franklin, J., Steinbeck, K., Rooney, J., O'Connor, H. (2015). A clinical assessment tool to identify young women at increased risk of iron deficiency with or without anaemia. International Conference on Diet and Activity Methods, Brisbane: International Conference on Diet and Activity Methods.
- Keating, S., Hackett, D., Parker, H., O'Connor, H., Gerofi, J., Salis (nee Sainsbury), A., Baker, M., Chuter, V., Caterson, I., George, J., Johnson, N. (2015). Effect of aerobic exercise training dose on liver fat and visceral adiposity. Journal of Hepatology, 63(1), 174-182. [More Information]
- Parker, H., O'Connor, H., Cohn, J., Garg, M., Johnson, N., Caterson, I., George, J. (2015). Effect of combined fish oil plus coenzyme Q10 supplementation on Omega-3 Index and cardiovascular risk markers in overweight men. Joint Annual Scientific Meeting of the Nutrition Society of New Zealand and the Nutrition Society of Australia, New Zealand: Nutrition Society of Australia and Nutrition Society of New Zealand.
2014
- Cheng, H., O'Connor, H., Kay, S., Cook, R., Parker, H., Orr, R. (2014). Anthropometric characteristics of Australian junior representative rugby league players. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 17(5), 546-551. [More Information]
- Parker, H., O'Connor, H., Keating, S., Cohn, J., Garg, M., Caterson, I., George, J., Johnson, N. (2014). Efficacy of the Omega-3 Index in predicting NAFLD in overweight and obese adults: a pilot study. 2014 Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society Annual Scientific Meeting, Sydney, Australia: Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society.
- Parker, H., O'Connor, H., Keating, S., Cohn, J., Garg, M., Caterson, I., George, J., Johnson, N. (2014). Omega-3 Index and liver fat: an unexpected relationship. Nutrition Society of Australia 2014 Annual Scientific Meeting, Australia.
2013
- Parker, H., Keating, S., O'Connor, H., Cohn, J., Johnson, N. (2013). Is the Omega-3 Index predictive of fatty liver in overweight men and women? Joint Annual Scientific Meeting of the Nutrition Society of New Zealand and the Nutrition Society of Australia, New Zealand: Nutrition Society of Australia and Nutrition Society of New Zealand.
2012
- Parker, H., Keating, S., O'Connor, H., Cohn, J., Caterson, I., George, J., Johnson, N. (2012). Can reported short-term dietary intake predict fatty liver? Nutrition Society of Australia 2012 Annual Scientific Meeting, Not-Known.
- Parker, H., Johnson, N., Burdon, C., Cohn, J., O'Connor, H., George, J. (2012). Omega-3 supplementation and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Hepatology, 56(4), 944-951. [More Information]
- Parker, H., Johnson, N., George, J. (2012). Reply to: "The optimal dose of omega-3 supplementation for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease". Journal of Hepatology, 57(2), 469-470. [More Information]
2011
- Parker, H., Burdon, C., O'Connor, H., George, J., Cohn, J., Johnson, N. (2011). Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in humans: a systematic review and meta- analysis. International Conference on the Science of Nutrition in Medicine and Healthcare 2011, Sydney, Australia: The Science of Nutrition in Medicine and Healthcare.
Selected Grants
2017
- Reducing body dissatisfaction and internalised weight stigma in young women with obesity. The everyBODY study, O'Connor H, Rieger E, Paxton S, Baur L, Steinbeck K, Laba T, Garnett S, Laba T, Cheng H, Parker H, Australian Rotary Health/Mental Health Research Grants