Megan Ames

Using the Victoria Healthy Youth Survey (V-HYS) data, I am investigating the longitudinal pathways connecting psychosocial problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, interpersonal stress) and health behaviours (e.g., physical activity, sleep) in adolescence (ages 12 to 18) to cardiometabolic risk (CMR) in young adulthood (ages 22 to 29). Cardiometabolic risk (CMR) refers to a set of indicators that increase an individual’s risk for diabetes, heart disease or stroke. This knowledge can inform theory and innovative interventions that target behaviours and reduce health risks for adolescents and young adults. My research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. 

Representative Publications

Ames, M. E., Leadbeater, B. J., & MacDonald, S. W. S. (in press). Health behavior changes in adolescence and young adulthood: Implications for cardiometabolic risk. Health Psychology.

Ames, M., & Leadbeater, B. (2016). Overweight and isolated: The interpersonal problems of youth who are overweight from adolescence into young adulthood. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 41(3), 390-404. doi:10.1177/0165025416647799

Ames, M. E., Holfeld, B., & Leadbeater, B. J. (2016). Sex and age group differences in the associations between sleep duration and BMI from adolescence to young adulthood. Psychology & Health, 31(8), 976-992. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2016.1163360

Ames, M. E., & Wintre, M. G. (2016). Growth mixture modeling of body mass index development: Longitudinal patterns of internalizing symptoms and physical activity. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 26(4), 889-901. doi: 10.1111/jora.12239

Ames, M. E., Wintre, M. G., & Flora, D. (2015). Trajectories of BMI and internalizing symptoms: Associations across adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 45, 80-88. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.08.016