As the number of children affected by obesity increases in the United States, it is necessary to intervene with preventive and intervention techniques that will enact change. Because children spend a significant amount of their time in school, it is of particular interest to target strategies during the school day. Given the recommendations for…

Background: Motivating Adolescents with Technology to CHOOSE Health™ (MATCH) is an educational and behavioral intervention in seventh grade. Methods: Teachers in 2 schools delivered the MATCH curriculum, with 1 control school. Using a quasi-experimental design, outcome measures included lessons completed, body mass index (BMI), BMI z-score (zBMI),…

Schools are positioned to play a key role in nurturing students with knowledge and behaviours associated with healthful living. Our study examined the effects of an intervention on energy balance (EB) knowledge. Twelve 6th and 7th grade classrooms (n = 140) were assigned to receive either two standardised lessons on EB or a combined intervention…

This collection of fact sheets includes: (1) Alcohol and Drug Use; (2) Bullying and Suicidal Behaviors; (3) Dietary Behaviors; (4) Disease Prevention and Health Care Access; (5) Injury Risk and Violence Behaviors; (6) Physical Inactivity; (7) Sexual Behaviors; (8) Tobacco Use Behaviors; and (9) Weight Management. [For "[West Virginia Youth…

Obesity continues to plague U.S. school-age populations. A number of individual/structural circumstances have been identified as increasing the risk of poor health among children. The article's aim is to examine some of these circumstances and their relationship to students being overweight/obese, while highlighting resource variables as potential…

Children who struggle with weight management often endure a broad range of consequences, including stigmatization, well into adulthood. With an increase in the prevalence of overweight children, there are now more children at risk of being stigmatized. The purpose of this study was to examine stigmatization across the elementary and middle school…

Participation in the federally-subsidized school breakfast program often falls well below its lunchtime counterpart. To increase take-up, many districts have implemented Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC), offering breakfast directly to students at the start of the school day. Beyond increasing participation, advocates claim BIC improves academic…

Background: Childhood obesity continues to be a public health problem in the United States. Increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables (F/V) is one strategy for decreasing high consumption of energy-dense, high-fat foods, thereby improving weight status. Many Orleans Parish public schools were provided with salad bars (SBs) to augment school…

Given the short-and long-term health implications associated with overweight and obesity plus the likelihood of overweight or obesity to continue into adulthood, addressing the causes of overweight and obesity in childhood is a significant public health concern. One underlying cause of overweight and obesity is insufficient physical activity. The…

Background: In 2009, the Pennsylvania Department of Health developed the Active Schools Program (ASP) which required 30?minutes of daily physical education (PE) in middle schools to reduce childhood obesity. This investigation evaluated the ASP effects on physical fitness and weight status in middle school adolescents throughout 1 academic year.…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a weight-related teasing prevention program implemented for both female and male students in a school setting. Methods: Junior High School students (N = 143) in seventh grade were invited to participate in the program. One hundred eighteen participants completed pre- and posttest surveys to assess…

School-based childhood obesity prevention programs have grown in response to reductions in child physical activity (PA), increased sedentariness, poor diet, and soaring child obesity rates. Multiple systematic reviews indicate school-based obesity prevention/treatment interventions are effective, yet few studies have examined the school nurse role…

Background: Research on physical activity breaks and facilities (indoor and outdoor) in secondary schools is relatively limited. Methods: School administrators and students in nationally representative samples of 8th (middle school) and 10th/12th grade (high school) students were surveyed annually from 2008-2009 to 2011-2012. School administrators…

The purpose of this quantitate ve study was to determine whether or not students in fifth grade who meet the healthy fitness zone (HFZ) for aerobic capacity on the fall 2013 FITNESSGRAM® Test scored higher on the math portion of the 2013 fall Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test, than students that failed to reach the HFZ for aerobic capacity…

This quantitative causal comparative study looked to see if there was a relationship between childhood obesity and student achievement. Because of the many conflicting results in the research available, it was not known if there was a relationship between childhood obesity and student achievement among inner-city middle school students in a school…