Comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs) aim to increase students' physical activity opportunities across the entire school day. Targeted areas include physical education, classes throughout the curriculum, before and after school settings, and time spent both with families and in the community. Home fun (formally known as…

Schools around the nation are attempting to increase the amount of physical activity (PA) students receive through a variety of creative means. Recently, organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) have sounded an alarm about the lack of time children spend in PA participation. The purpose…

The 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth reported that only 24% of U.S. children and youth ages 6 to 17 meet the national recommendation of 60 minutes of daily physical activity, grading the nation at a D-. Schools can help students meet this national recommendation, as close to 60 million children and adolescents attend…

Objective: The purpose of this study was to characterise parents' concerns for their children's health behaviour and perceptions of motivators and barriers to positive child health behaviour change, and to determine associations between motivators and barriers and parents' priorities for a school-based healthy lifestyle programme. Design:…

Obesity rates, mental illnesses, and emotional health and well being pose a significant problem for today's youth. Family and community involvement have been shown to improve school readiness, academic achievement, and graduation rates. The Whole School Whole Community Whole Child (WSCC) is a ten-component model designed to work synergistically to…

In March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic upended our country, leading to a hunger and education crisis like we have never seen before. This report reflects on the role schools play in supporting a culture of wellness; the opportunities, trends, barriers and reasons why schools have been the great equalizer in America, where the minority is the…

Within the objectives of the "Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs" (CSPAP) and the "Let's Move in School Initiative" (LMIS), the PA leaders (PE teachers) strive to instill the knowledge, skills, and confidence that help their students be physically active for a lifetime. PA leaders strive to involve family and…

Childhood obesity and its repercussions will be one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. Promoting physical activity and preventing the decline of children's fitness and the increase of childhood obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease therefore need to be a high priority. So far, besides a few large-scale…

The purposes of this exploratory qualitative research were to describe perceptions related to childhood obesity of rural parents, teachers, and school administrators and to examine how their perceptions shape their choices and behaviors for children's eating and physical exercise. The results showed that the perceptions of childhood obesity in the…

In today's technology-driven society, children often sit for hours in front of a screen (e.g., computer, TV, video game), exercising only their fingers as they manipulate the keyboard, remote control, or game controller. This sedentary lifestyle contributes to the growing problem of childhood obesity. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control…

Physical activity is associated with numerous academic and health benefits. Furthermore, schools have been identified as an ideal location to promote physical activity as most youth attend school regularly from ages 5-18. Unfortunately, in an effort to increase academic learning time, schools have been eliminating traditional activity…

Today, obesity is one of the most critical health concerns for children in the United States. Nearly one-third of children and teens are overweight or obese--and physical inactivity is a leading contributor to the epidemic. Regrettably, as a result of budget cuts and pressure to ensure students perform well on academic tests, physical education…

Although the benefits of regular physical activity are widely acknowledged, recent findings indicate that a growing number of youth are not as active as they should be. The impact of a sedentary lifestyle during childhood on lifelong pathological processes and associated health care costs have created a need for immediate action to manage, if not…

Great anticipation surrounded the release of the first ever Surgeon General's report on physical activity and health in 1996. The report stated that physical activity can contribute significantly to overall levels of health and the quality of life for all Americans. However, since the report's release, little has improved in the health status of…

The Healthy Schools Program provides technical assistance to help schools engage administrators, teachers, parents and vendors in increasing access to physical activity and healthier foods for students and staff. Current grants run to September 2013. The program addresses two policy priorities of the Childhood Obesity team: (1) Ensure that all…