The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences,
P.O. Box 4014 Ullevaal Stadion, N-0806 Oslo Norway

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Full professor at The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (NSSS), also holding a 20% position as full professor at Agder University College, Kristiansand, Norway. For several years he has been working in the field of the psychology of youth sport, physical education and health enhancing physical activity for all age groups. Author of several book chapters and around 50 refereed international journal publications. Editorial board member of Psychology of Sport and Exercise, and teaching sport & educational psychology and exercise psychology at the bachelor and masters level at NSSS.

The primary focuses of his research include the examination of physical activity, sedentary behaviours, motivation, well-being and weight regulation among young people, adults, pregnant women and the elderly using various psychological social-cognitive theories of motivation and well-being as theoretical frame of reference. Together with colleagues and phd students he has been examining motivational determinants of persistence, positive and negative affective states and self-regulation in a variety of physical activity contexts using cross-sectional, prospective and RCT designs. Currently, he is involved in the following research projects:

• Country partner lead in PAPA - an EU (7^th Framework programme) funded intervention project focusing on the role of the football coach for young players’ motivation, well-being and persistence in football and physical activity in general. The project involves 8 European partner Universities.
• Co-investigator in the ongoing project “The STORK Groruddalen cohort study of multi-ethnic pregnant women”.
• Co-investigator in The Health in Adolescents Study (HEIA), a 20-month comprehensive, multicomponent school-based randomised trial.
• Co-investigator in “The senior 70 + study” (Seniorløftet), a 13-week, single-blinded, randomized controlled exercise trial
• Co-investigator in “Young and Active” - a Web-based program for increasing physical activity in overweight adolescents

KEY PUBLICATIONS 2008 - present:

Ommundsen, Y., Løndal,K, & Loland,S (in press). Sport, children and well-being. In: Ben-Arieh, Asher, Casas, Ferran, Frones, Ivar. and Korbin, Jill E. (Eds.) , Handbook of Child Well-Being. Theories, Methods and Policies in Global Perspective. Dorcrecht: Springer.

Solberg, P. A., Halvari, H., Ommundsen, Y., & Hopkins, W. G. (2013). A one-year follow-up of effects of exercise programs on well-being in older adults. Journal of Ageing and Physical activity, in press.

Ommundsen,Y (2013). Fysisk-motorisk ferdighet gjennom kroppsøving – et viktig bidrag til elevenes allmenndanning og læring i skolen. Norsk Pedagogisk Tidsskrift, 97, 155-166.

Solberg,PA,. Ommundsen,Y & Halvari,H (2013). Linking exercise and causality orientations to change in well-being among older adults: Does change in motivational variables play a role? Journal of Applied Social Psychology, in press.

Haugen , T., Ommundsen, Y. & Seiler,S (2013) The relationship between physical activity and physical self-esteem  in adolescents:The  role of physical fitness indices. Pediatric Exercise Science, 25, 138-153.

Riiser,K, Løndal,K, Ommundsen,Y, Sundar, T & Helseth,S (2013). Development and usability of an internet intervention to increase physical activity in overweight adolescents. JMIR Research Protocols, 2 (1):e7 doi:10.2196/resprot.2410.

Grydeland M, Bergh IH, Bjelland M, Lien N, Andersen LF, Ommundsen Y, Klepp KI, Anderssen SA. (2013) Intervention effects on physical activity: the HEIA study - a cluster randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity ;10:17. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-10-17.

Gebremariam MK, Bergh IH, Andersen LF, Ommundsen Y, Totland TH, Bjelland MB, Grydeland M, Lien N. (2013) Are screen-based sedentary behaviors longitudinally associated with dietary habits and leisure-time PA in the transition between childhood and adolescence?.International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 10:9 http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/10/1/9.

Gebremariam, M, Bergh, I, Andersen, L, Ommundsen,Y, Bjelland ,M & Lien,N  (2012): Stability and change in potential correlates of physical  activity and association with pubertal status among Norwegian children  in the transition between childhood and adolescence. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 9:56 http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/9/1/56.