Background: This study describes a method for harmonizing data collected with different tools to compute a rating of compliance with national recommendations for school physical activity (PA) and nutrition environments. Methods: We reviewed questionnaire items from 84 elementary schools that participated in the Childhood Obesity Research…

Objectives: Overweight and obesity among school-aged children pose a threat to both their academic performance and public health. The Healthy Primary School of the Future (HPSF) initiative was established to address this issue. Our objective was to explore the conditions that make HPSF sustainable based on the perspectives of relevant…

Background: A nutritious diet can prevent obesity and chronic disease and improve academic performance, yet many children have energy-dense, nutrient-poor diets. The objective of this study was to assess nutrition policies, practices, and environments in Georgia Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) elementary schools and…

OPREVENT2 was a multilevel, multicomponent (MLMC) adult obesity prevention that sought to improve access and demand for healthier food and physical activity opportunities in six Native American communities in the Southwest and Midwest. OPREVENT2 worked with worksites, food stores, schools (grades 2-6), through social media and mailings, and with a…

Obesity in childhood has become a major global public health concern. Its considerable increase in the last decades took the World Health Organization (WHO) to regard this fact as one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century. Diagnosing, intervening and, above all, preventing obesity in the early stages of life becomes urgent…

This phenomenological study investigated the perceptions of elementary principals regarding the need for a school-based student obesity prevention at eight, rural elementary schools in North Central Texas. Face to face interviews were the primary method of data collection from the eight participants. Findings indicated that school-based obesity…

Objective: This study describes the step-by-step development of the IMove30+ programme and outlines lessons derived from the authors' experience using an intervention mapping protocol (IMP)-based programme design. The programme was designed to increase the moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA) level at school among Lebanese children, aged…

Purpose: Obesity in children and adolescents is a significant public health concern. The World Health Organization Health Promoting Schools (HPS) framework promotes good nutrition and physical activity in school settings. While HPS is embraced globally, effective implementation and sustainable programmes are a continued challenge. This paper aims…

Obesity prevention in youth is a health priority, and teaching healthy habits toward this end is one of a school nurse's many responsibilities. A school nurse developed and implemented a school-wide, 2-week-long Activity and Nutrition Challenge (ANC) using the evidence-based 5-2-1-0 initiative to prevent and fight childhood obesity. Despite…

Background: Overweight and obese body mass index (BMI) status affects an increasing number of children in the United States. The school setting has been identified as a focus area to implement obesity prevention programs. Methods: A database search of PubMed, Education Search Complete, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature…

The Katalyst intervention program was piloted in fifth-grade classrooms at two Appalachian schools during the 2017-18 academic year as a potential educational resource to tackle the rising rates of obesity and chronic diseases in this region. The program consisted of four 60-minute modules, each based on a specific organ system. Each module…

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the three articles included in a special focus of "Drugs: Education, Prevention, and Policy" that address environmental change strategies targeting drug abuse prevention. We define environmental change strategies and their effectiveness in public health domains such as alcohol abuse, smoking, and…

International concern about "alarming" levels of childhood obesity has seen a proliferation of interventions filtering into school physical education programmes that are designed to influence children's health practices and attitudes. This article addresses one such obesity-prevention intervention, the Global Children's Challenge™, a…

The Balanced Energy Physical Activity Toolkit, or the BEPA-Toolkit, supports physical activity (PA) programming via Extension in elementary schools. In a pilot study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the BEPA-Toolkit as used by teachers through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education partnerships. We surveyed teachers (n = 57)…

Background: South Africa has a high prevalence of HIV and obesity. Interventions to date have primarily focused on adolescents and adults. Prevention of obesity, in particular, is not addressed substantively in the current pre-adolescent school curriculum. Education about factors underlying these issues early in life could reach beyond children,…