The number of children who are obese and overweight continues as a public health challenge despite decades of research. The purpose of this article is to describe trends in body mass index (BMI) percentile data collected from 11- to 14-year-old school children in 2008-2009 and 2015-2016 in rural Wisconsin. The BMI percentiles from 1,347 students…

Obesity rates among children and young adults are considered one of the most consequential global public health challenges of the 21st century (Hurt et al., 2010; WHO, 2016). Obesity comorbidities include propensity of low self-esteem (Franklin et al, 2006). Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), a triangulation mixed-methods,…

Healthy behaviors including limited screen time (ST), high physical activity (PA), and adequate fruits and vegetables consumption (FV) are recommended for adolescents, but it is unclear how gender, race/ethnicity, and weight status relate to these public health guidelines in diverse urban adolescents. Participants (N = 384) were recruited from…

Obesity is a critical global public health issue. It leads to numerous health conditions that limit the quality and length of life, placing a huge burden on healthcare systems around the world. Scholars believe that the fight against obesity can be won only through multidisciplinary efforts. However, the literature on people's understanding of…

The public health benefit of school physical education (PE) depends in large part on physical activity (PA) provided during class. According to the literature, PE has a valuable role in public health, and PA levels during PE classes depend on a wide range of factors. The main objective of this study, based on ecological models of behaviour, was to…

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…

This report finds that adolescent smoking, drinking, misusing prescription drugs and using illegal drugs is, by any measure, a public health problem of epidemic proportion, presenting clear and present danger to millions of America's teenagers and severe and expensive long-range consequences for the entire population. This report is a wake-up call…