plays)
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- In January, 2015,
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a teenage boy from Western Australia died of heat stroke
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after collapsing during his rugby league training session.
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The outdoor temperature was just 34 degrees.
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34 degrees.
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How many times have you or your children
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experienced temperatures similar to that?
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Just think back to January, 2020,
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the temperature in Canberra reached a record 44 degrees.
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Records are being set all around Australia,
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and we're now twice as likely
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to experience extreme summer heat waves
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when compared to 30 years ago.
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Our children are facing a warming world
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and it's our duty to ensure their safety.
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Here at the University of Canberra,
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I'm researching a project,
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in collaboration with the University of Sydney,
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that aims to find out if children
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are more vulnerable than adults during exercise in the heat.
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As a student interested in the effect
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of heat stress on the human body,
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this question is quite fascinating,
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as we currently do not know.
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We do know that children sweat less than adults.
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Sweating is a critically important response
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to stop ourselves from overheating in a hot environment.
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So does this mean that children are more disadvantaged?
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Or do they sweat less than adults
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simply because they do not need to?
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These are just two questions that we aim to address.
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To do this, we will compare how adults
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and children, aged 10 to 16 years old,
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respond to exercise in the heat.
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Participants will walk in our cutting-edge heat chamber,
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which allows us to set a specific temperature
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and mimic an outdoor heat wave in our laboratory.
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Before entering the chamber,
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each participant will consume a pill.
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This pill senses their internal body temperature
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and we can then monitor the rise in body temperature
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in real-time during exercise.
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We can then find out the impact
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of exercising in a 40 degree heat wave,
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like what we experienced in January, 2020.
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We can also compare the body temperature response
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of children and adults.
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This research aims to redefine
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the current extreme heat policy for sport in Australia.
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The current policy,
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developed by Sports Medicine Australia,
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outlines temperatures that pose a risk to adults.
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However, there is no policy for children
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and this must be addressed.
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Put yourself in the mind
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of a 10-year-old touch footy superstar
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playing a must-win game in the middle of summer.
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It could be here at the University of Canberra.
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Your team is down two points
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and you're gonna run your heart out
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to try and tie or even win the game.
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Of course, you wouldn't be thinking
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of the dangers of heat stress.
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But we, as researchers, coaches,
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parents and policy makers,
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need to look at the bigger picture
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and ensure the safety of our children.
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(soft music plays)