Background: The School Health Index (SHI) is a tool designed to help schools assess the extent to which they are implementing practices included in the research-based guidelines and strategies for school health and safety programs developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC previously analyzed data from the 2000 School…

This dissertation evaluates the impact of elementary school policies on child health behaviors and obesity in the United States. Two chapters address nutrition policies, two chapters address physical activity policies, and a final chapter estimates the health care cost savings associated with a decline in childhood obesity prevalence. The use of…

As of March 2008, over half of U.S. states are facing projected budget shortfalls for the coming fiscal year. During economic downturns such as this, opportunities available to hard-working, low-wage families are diminished. These conditions create growing concerns for policymakers who must, with fewer state resources, enhance opportunities and…

The School Health Index (SHI) is a self-assessment and planning tool that helps individual schools identify the strengths and weaknesses of their health policies and programs. To determine the percentage of US schools meeting the recommendations in the SHI, the present study analyzed data from the School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS)…

Comments on the health of migrant farmworkers in the U.S. and the Border Industrialization ("twin plants") Program with a brief description of the unique U.S.-Mexico border region, emphasizing the status of air pollution, housing, nutrition, and health care. Available from Southwest Economy & Society, Box 4482, Albuquerque, New…

This collection of essays was assembled to provide coverage of the subject of community nutrition--the whole of nutritional sciences applied to consumers as groups or individuals. The two main concerns are the food itself and the consumer (his physical, mental, and social well-being). It is pointed out that biochemists have analyzed food and…

Open-air schools represent one of the latest developments in public-school organization. They came as the result of a desire for better conservation of the health of those children who, by reason of a tuberculous affection, poor nourishment, or other debilitating conditions, were unable to profit physically and mentally by the life and work of…

In 1995, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with state and local education and health agencies, developed the School Health Profiles (Profiles) to measure health education practices and some school health policies. Using input from education and health agencies, Profiles evolved to provide a more comprehensive…