The relationship between youth-fitness test items related to cardiorespiratory endurance and body composition and health outcomes is well established. Until recent years, the link between musculoskeletal fitness measures and health markers has been less conclusive. The information provided in this article offers evidence of the health links…

Background: Internationally 18% of youth are obese. Fitness testing can be used to establish fitness surveillance, which can inform policy and targeted interventions aimed at addressing obesity. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and low fitness in Idaho school-aged youth through a pilot study.…

Background: Despite the known benefits of physical fitness in adolescence, the growing and at-risk homeschool adolescent population has been largely overlooked in current research. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare health-related fitness including body mass index (BMI), cardiorespiratory fitness, and muscular fitness between…

Although there is a growing consensus about the positive relationship between prevention of overweight/obesity and academic performance in children, relevant studies targeting the relationship between underweight and academic performance are scarce. This study aimed to examine the longitudinal relationship of favorable weight change to academic…

A number of states have taken steps toward promoting student wellness, with many of their state boards of education in the middle of the action. This article contains some examples of states leading on student wellness by addressing physical fitness, social and emotional learning (SEL), and mental health supports. The Every Student Succeeds Act…

The Coordinated School Health (CSH) report describes how the CSH program was implemented at AISD campuses during 2017-2018. The reports provide summary- and campus-level information about achieved CSH action goals and information about changes in physical fitness of students at the campus since the previous year.

This article describes the challenges faced by a middle school teacher who inherited a recreation-based physical education program in which students had been accustomed to choosing what they wanted to do. Stressing the importance of implementing a standards-based program in which students of all skill levels and activity preferences were able to…

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.…

Background: Physical education teacher education (PETE) offers a context for students to learn about the promotion of active lifestyles in secondary schools through their interactions and experiences during the teacher education process. However, previous studies have found low levels of health-related fitness knowledge amongst PETE students,…

Objective: The purpose of this study was to establish baseline values on physiological parameters for 7-11 graders (n = 146) in a rural area of Alabama and to examine whether differences existed among the adolescents in the county. Design: Descriptive. Setting: Many adolescents in the southern portion of the United States suffer disproportionately…

Heart Health is grounded in the skill of learning to listen to the language of the heart. It connects students to their heart-rate data, and offers insights into what these numbers mean using the framework of Heart Zones Training. There are eight learning opportunities that originate from the following questions: How does heart health information…