Jacqueline Walker

Dr. Jacqueline Walker is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, at The University of Queensland, where she joined in November 2015. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy in paediatric nutrition at The University of Queensland in March 2013, focusing her doctoral research on energy balance and body composition in children with cerebral palsy. Prior to her academic appointment, Walker earned undergraduate qualifications in exercise science and nutrition and dietetics from The University of Sydney. She has extensive clinical experience as a paediatric dietitian, working in acute hospital settings, community clinical environments, and private practice.

Walker's research specializations include the prevention and management of childhood overweight and obesity and associated comorbidities from systems and individual perspectives, achieving optimal nutrition and physical activity outcomes for children with disabilities, nutrition for child and adolescent athletes, and nutrition and physical activity recommendations across the lifespan. Her expertise spans biomedical and clinical sciences, health sciences, nutrition and dietetics, paediatrics, and public health nutrition. She has led and contributed to several funded projects, including Prevention Systems Research Support from Health and Wellbeing Queensland (2023–2025), Evaluation of the Healthier Drinks at Healthcare Facilities as part of the CHQ Obesity Strategy (2017–2020), Expansion, evaluation and sustainability of a new paediatric multidisciplinary weight management service from Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service (2016–2020), and Evaluation of a new paediatric multidisciplinary weight management service funded by UQ Collaboration and Industry Engagement Fund - FirstLink (2016–2017). Key publications include the book chapter 'Assessment of nutritional state: dietetic, energy and macronutrients' (2020) in Nutrition and neurodisability; 'Dietary strategies for obesity' (Nutrients, 2023); 'Applying the Integrated Sustainability Framework to explore the long-term sustainability of nutrition education programs in schools: a systematic review' (Public Health Nutrition, 2023); 'Was it a HIIT? A process evaluation of a school-based high-intensity interval training intervention' (International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2024); and 'Mission and money: a scoping review of social enterprise business models as a solution to sustaining health-promoting food and nutrition-based initiatives' (BMC Public Health, 2025).

Professional Email: j.walker3@uq.edu.au