The prevalence of obese children has tripled during the past three decades. While lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating have been the primary focus of public health efforts, media has a significant influence on food choices and food consumption. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine if a media literacy intervention would…

Background: School physical education (PE) not only offers and promotes health-related physical activity (PA), but also encompasses the promotion and development of health-related well-being such as health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Furthermore, assessing PA and HRQOL have become major issues in pediatric public health and also serve as a…

Background: Unhealthy lifestyles during childhood constitute a public health problem in Japan. However, current health education in Japan is ineffective in counteracting them. Previous studies contend that healthy lifestyles in children vary by academic grade and sex. This study examined changes throughout childhood suggests some intervention…

Childhood exposure to even low levels of lead can adversely affect neurodevelopment, behavior, and cognitive performance. This paper investigates the link between lead exposure and student achievement in Massachusetts. Panel data analysis is conducted at the school-cohort level for children born between 1991 and 2000 and attending 3rd and 4th…

This case study addresses two major priorities of the Boston Foundation--health and education. Since the 2007 publication of the "Understanding Boston" report "The Boston Paradox: Lots of Health Care, Not Enough Health," the Boston Foundation has worked to draw attention to the epidemic of preventable chronic disease that not…

Objective: Examine the effect of the "California Children's Power Play! Campaign's School Idea & Resource Kits" for fourth/fifth grades on the psychosocial determinants of fruit and vegetable (FV) intake and physical activity (PA). Methods: Randomized, controlled trial (n = 31 low-resource public schools; 1,154 children). Ten…

Background: Children's health is an important indicator of community health because children are especially vulnerable to disease. The school setting is ideal for assessing these vulnerabilities and prevalence of disease, yet the methods that produce high participation among students and their families are not usually described or evaluated. This…

This most recent Iowa Kids Count data book, "Iowa Kids Count 2011: Trends in the Well-Being of Iowa Children," provides data on 20 different indicators of child and family well-being at the United States, Iowa, substate and county level. The annually produced data book presents health, education, welfare and economic data including…

This most recent Iowa Kids Count data book, "Iowa Kids Count 2010: Trends in the Well-Being of Iowa Children," provides data on 20 different indicators of child and family well-being at the United States, Iowa, substate and county level. The annually produced data book presents health, education, welfare and economic data including…

The National Capital Region (NCR) is home to more than one-and-a-half million children and youth (ages birth through 24 years). Although the NCR is known as a place with a highly transient population, if history is any guide, many of these young people will remain in this region and fundamentally shape the quality of life--not only for themselves,…

This latest annually produced Iowa Kids Count data book, "Iowa Kids Count 2009: Trends in the Well-Being of Iowa Children," provides data on 18 different indicators of child and family well-being at the United States, Iowa, substate and county-level. The 18 indicators presented in the data book contain an expanse of data from economic,…

This new Iowa Kids Count data book, "Iowa Kids Count 2008: Trends in the Well-Being of Iowa Children," is the latest annually produced book containing data on 18 different indicators of child and family well-being for the United States, Iowa and its 99 counties. The 18 indicators provide a wealth of health, education, welfare and…