Dr Dale Esliger

Pronouns: He/him
  • Reader in Digital Health

Research groups and centres

Publications
Dale Esliger

Dr. Dale Esliger graduated with distinction from the University of New Brunswick with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology (Exercise Science) in 2000. Dale went on to obtain a master’s degree in Exercise and Sport Science in 2002 from the same institution. 

In 2011 Dale completed a PhD in the College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan in the area of Measurement of Physical Activity with a focus on accelerometry. 

After a short stint at Dalhousie University, Dale was appointed as a Senior Lecturer in Physical Activity Measurement at Loughborough University in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences in 2012.

Exercise as Medicine with Dr Dale Esliger

The circuitous route I took through my higher education has provided me with a diverse set of skills that together are quite unique.  I was fortunate to be able to augment my more typical academic experiences with two separate stints of employment in government (Statistics Canada) and industry (Unilever).  These experiences, and the ‘doors they opened’ for me, gave me the opportunity to develop skills in teaching, research, administration, and community/enterprise engagement at the local, national, and international level.  

To date, my research focuses on enhancing the accelerometric profiling of physical activity.  More specifically, my research program aims to develop more sophisticated physical activity measurement methodologies/technologies to advance our understanding of the interplay between physical activity, sedentary behavior, and health. 

Over the past eight years I developed what are now recognized as world-class analytical techniques for the objective measurement of physical activity in both experimental models as well as large population surveys.  The longer term goal of my research program is to apply these new methodologies and/or sensors to gain insight into the amount, intensity, and types of physical activity required for optimal health. 

It is my hope that the objective nature of the evidence generated from this work resonates more strongly with policy makers, with a view to increasing population-levels of physical activity (and decreasing sedentary behaviours) and for the prevention and treatment of chronic lifestyle diseases such as obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis. 

Over 20 universities and government research groups in five counties have either engaged me as a consultant/collaborator on their projects or are utilizing my analytical techniques (e.g., Statistics Canada, Canadian Health Measures Survey; Framingham Heart Survey; Health Survey for England; International Children’s Accelerometry Database).

Featured publications

  • Ekelund, U., Jian’an, L., Sherar, L.B., Judge, K., Esliger, D.W., Griew, P., and Cooper, A. Moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity but not sedentary time is associated with cardio-metabolic risk factors; Meta-analysis of the independent and joint associations in 20,871 children (ICAD). JAMA
  • Sherar, L.B., Griew P., Esliger D.W., Cooper A., Ekelund U., Judge K., Riddoch, C.J. International Children's Accelerometry Database (ICAD): Design and methods, BMC Public Health. 11:485, 2011.
  • Esliger, D.W., Rowlands, A.V., Hurst, T.L., Catt, M., Murray, P., Eston, R.G.  Validation of the GENEA accelerometer. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 43(6): 1085-1093, 2011.
  • Takken, T., Stephens, S., Balemans, A., Tremblay, M.S., Esliger, D.W., Schneiderman, J., Biggar, D., Longmuir, P., Wright, V., McCrindle, B., Hendricks, M., Abad, A., van der Net, J., Feldman, B.M.  Validation of the Actiheart activity monitor for measurement of activity energy expenditure in children and adolescents with chronic disease.  Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 64(12): 1494-1500, 2010.
  • Fuller, D.L., Muhajarine, N., Smart Cities, Healthy Kids Research Team. Replication of the Neighborhood Active Living Potential Measure in Saskatoon, Canada. Am. J. Prev. Med. 39(4): 364-367, 2010.
  • Silva, P., Esliger, D.W., G., Welk, J., Mota. Technical reliability assessment of the Actigraph GT1M accelerometer. Meas. Phys. Ed. Exerc. Sci. 14: 79-91, 2010.
  • Esliger, D.W., M.S. Tremblay, J.L. Copeland, J.D. Barnes, G.E., Huntington, and Bassett Jr, D.R.  Physical activity profile of Old Order Amish, Mennonite, and contemporary children. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 42(2): 296-303, 2010.
  • Sherar, L.B., N. Muhajarine, Esliger, D.W., and A.D.G. Baxter-Jones. The relationship between girls’ (8-14 years) physical activity and maternal education. Ann. Human Biol. 36(5): 573-583, 2009.
  • Copeland, J.L., and Esliger, D.W.. Accelerometer assessment of physical activity in active healthy older adults. J. Aging Phys. Activ. 17(1): 17-30, 2009.
  • Rowlands, A.V., Esliger, D.W., E.L. Pilgrim, A.R. Middlebrooke, and R.G. Eston. Physical activity content of Motive8 PE compared to Primary School PE lessons in the context of children’s overall daily activity levels. J. Exerc. Sci. Fit. 6(1): 26-33, 2008.
  • Tremblay, M.S., Esliger, D.W., J.L. Copeland, J.D. Barnes, and D.R. Bassett Jr. Moving forward by looking back: Lessons learned from lost lifestyles. Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab.  33(4): 836-842, 2008.
  • Sherar, L.B., Esliger, D.W., Baxter-Jones, A.D.G., and M.S. Tremblay. Letter to the editor in response to “Incoherence with Studies Using ActiGraph MTI among Children Age 6-12 Years". Med. Sci. Sports Exerc.40(5): 980, 2008.
  • Tremblay, M.S., R.J. Shephard, L.R. Brawley, R. Adams, C. Cameron, C.L. Craig, M. Duggan, Esliger, D.W., W. Hearst, A. Hicks, I. Janssen, P.T. Katzmarzyk, A.E. Latimer, K.A. Martin Ginis, A. McGuire, D.H. Paterson, R. Poirier, M. Sharratt, J.C. Spence, B. Timmons, D. Warburton, K. Young, and L. Zehr. Physical activity guidelines and guides for Canadians: Facts and future. Can. J. Public Health 98(Suppl. 2) / Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 32(Suppl. 2E): S218-S224, 2007.
  • Tremblay, M.S., Esliger, D.W., A. Tremblay, and R. Colley. Incidental movement, lifestyle-embedded activity and sleep: New frontiers in physical activity assessment.Can. J. Public Health 98(Suppl. 2) / Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 32(Suppl. 2E): S208-S217, 2007.
  • Esliger, D.W. and M.S. Tremblay.  Physical activity and inactivity profiling: The next generation.  Can. J. Public Health 98(Suppl. 2) / Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 32(Suppl. 2E): S195-S207, 2007.
  • Tremblay, M.S., R. Langlois, S. Bryan, Esliger, D.W., and J. Patterson.  Canadian Health Measures Survey pretest: Design, methods, results, recommendations. Health Reports. (Statistics Canada, Catalogue 82-003) 2007; 18(Supplement): 1-10.
  • Stone, M.R., Esliger, D.W., and M.S. Tremblay. Comparative validity assessment of five activity monitors: Does being a child matter?  Pediatr. Exerc. Sci. 19: 291-309, 2007.
  • Esliger, D.W., A. Probert, S. Connor Gorber, S. Bryan, M. Laviolette, and M.S. Tremblay.  Validity of the Actical accelerometer step count function.  Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 39(7): 1200-1204, 2007. 
  • Sherar, L.B., Esliger, D.W., A.D.G. Baxter-Jones, and M.S. Tremblay. Age and gender differences in youth physical activity: Does physical maturity matter? Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 39(5): 830-835, 2007.
  • Bassett Jr., D.R., M.S. Tremblay, Esliger, D.W., J.L. Copeland, J.D. Barnes, and G.E. Huntington. Physical activity levels and Body Mass Index of youth in an Old-Order Amish community. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 39(3): 410-415, 2007.
  • Esliger, D.W. and M.S. Tremblay. Technical reliability assessment of three accelerometer models in a mechanical setup. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 38(12): 2171-2181, 2006.
  • Pinkoski, C., P.D. Chilibeck, D.G. Candow, Esliger, D.W., J.B. Ewaschuk, M. Facci, J. Farthing, and G.A. Zello. The effects of conjugated linoleic acid supplementation during resistance training. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 38(2):339-48, 2006. 
  • Tremblay, M.S., J.D. Barnes, J.L. Copeland, and Esliger, D.W.. Conquering childhood inactivity: is the answer in the past? Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 37(7):1187-94, 2005.
  • Esliger, D.W., J.L. Copeland, J.D. Barnes, and M.S. Tremblay. Standardizing and optimizing the use of accelerometer data for free-living physical activity monitoring. J. Phys. Activ. Health 2(3):366-383, 2005.

Book chapters and Government reports

  • Chad, K., Muhajarine, N., Baxter-Jones, A.D., Fisher, K., Hawley, J., Green, K., andEsliger, D.W.  A Healthy Weights Framework for Saskatchewan. A commissioned report for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, March, 2011.
  • Chad, K., Muhajarine, N., Baxter-Jones, A.D., Fisher, K., Hawley, J., Green, K., andEsliger, D.W.  An Overview of Healthy Weights in Saskatchewan. A commissioned background report and horizon scan for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, March, 2011.
  • Rowlands, A.V., Esliger, D.W., J., Eady, and R.G. Eston.  Empirical evidence to inform decisions regarding identification of non-wear periods from habitual physical activity data, In: The Proceedings of the 25th Paediatric Work Physiology Meeting. Berthoin, S. and Baquet, G. (ed). Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group, UK, Part 7, Chapter 39. 2010.
  • Esliger, D.W. and Hall, J. Accelerometry in children. In: Health Survey for England 2008: Physical activity and fitness, Craig, R., Mindell, J., and Hirani, V. (ed.), Volume 1, Chapter 6, Joint Health Surveys Unit, National Centre for Social Research, London, UK. 2009.
  • Chaudhury, M. and Esliger, D.W..  Accelerometry in adults. In: Health Survey for England 2008: Physical activity and fitness, Craig, R., Mindell, J., and Hirani, V. (ed.), Volume 1, Chapter 3, Joint Health Surveys Unit, National Centre for Social Research, London, UK. 2009.
  • Sherar, L.B., N.C. Gyurcsik, M.L. Humbert, Esliger, D.W., and A.D.G. Baxter-Jones. Understanding the decline in the physical activity of adolescent girls, In: Children and Exercise XXIV: The Proceedings of the 24th Paediatric Work Physiology International Symposium, Jurimae, T., Armstrong, N., Jurimae, J.(ed). Routledge: Taylor & LLC, UK, Chapter 2, P146-149. 2008.