Helping kids move more

Blog: Thursday 23 October 2025

How Heart Foundation funding supported Professor Jo Salmon’s lifelong mission

For nearly 30 years, Professor Jo Salmon has dedicated her career to helping children in Australia move more and sit less. As Director of the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Deakin University, Jo’s research is tackling one of the biggest health challenges facing young people in Australia: inactivity.

“Some surveys estimate only 10% of adolescents in Australia are meeting the recommended physical activity guidelines,” Jo explains. “We’re probably looking at the most sedentary generation of children in history, and that has serious implications for their heart health later in life.”

Jo’s research has revealed that physical inactivity and too much sitting can start affecting heart health from as early as six years old. Her work focuses on finding practical ways to help children become more active throughout the school day, during lessons, at recess and lunch, and after school.

One of her proudest achievements is the creation of TransformUs, a school-based program that’s been running for over 16 years and is now implemented in almost 900 schools across Australia. The program gives teachers easy ways to integrate movement into classroom learning, helping kids stay engaged and energised while improving their health and wellbeing.

“Children love being active during lessons. It keeps them switched on, not just for health outcomes, but also for learning,” says Jo.

The Heart Foundation’s role in Jo’s journey

Jo’s connection with the Heart Foundation goes back decades.

Early in her career, she reviewed research grants for the organisation and later became a Heart Foundation Research Fellow. That fellowship came at a critical moment, helping her move from early to mid-career and continue her vital research on children’s physical activity and heart health.

Over the years, Jo has also served on Heart Foundation committees, chaired the National Physical Activity Committee, and helped shape national advocacy initiatives like Blueprint for an Active Australia.

She says donors play an essential role in making all of this possible.

“Many people are surprised to learn that the Heart Foundation relies on community donations,” Jo says. “Every dollar given helps fund lifesaving heart research and programs that improve health for everyone in Australia.”

A personal motivation

For Jo, this work isn’t just professional, it’s deeply personal.

“As a grandmother, I think about my four grandchildren and the world they’re growing up in,” she says. “I want them to have the opportunity to be active and healthy, and to grow up free from heart disease.”

She’s seen how today’s lifestyle, with more screen time, car trips and less outdoor play, is shaping a generation that moves less than ever before. That’s why she’s passionate about creating environments that make physical activity a normal, easy part of every child’s day.

Looking ahead

Jo’s long-term vision is bold but simple: a future where heart disease no longer exists.

“My hope for the future of heart health in Australia is that there will be no more cardiovascular disease at all, from infancy right through to old age,” she says. “That everyone has a healthy start to life, and that continues for their whole life.”

Thanks to the generosity of Heart Foundation supporters, researchers like Professor Jo Salmon are working every day to make heart disease history.

By supporting the Heart Foundation, you can help fund lifesaving research like Jo’s and create a healthier future for the next generation.