A pilot was conducted to test the feasibility and compare the effectiveness of a group approach (facilitated group discussions) to that of a self-guided approach (newsletters) to weight management in postpartum women enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (baseline n = 151; final n = 64). Mean group…

NASPE recommends children ages 5-12 accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day of the week. With the growing occurrence of obesity in the United States, it is clear that too many of America's youth are not meeting the recommended amount of daily physical activity. Given that America's youth are having…

Increasing rates of childhood obesity has prompted calls for comprehensive approaches to school-based physical activity (PA). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) development and related contextual issues within a rural Appalachian county using a Systems Approach. A…

The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents from low-income families in the USA has become a significant concern over the last 20 years. One of the major contributors to this problem is the lack of physical activity. The purpose of this paper is to describe initiatives designed to: (1) engage young children in physical activity during…

America has a serious weight problem. Two-thirds of adults and nearly one-fifth of children in the United States are overweight, placing them at greater risk for heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases including cancer and arthritis. Furthermore, obesity and its related health problems are placing a major strain on the U.S. health care…

This article describes the development and growth of "Lifestyle Improvements in the Family Environment" ("L.I.F.E."), a school-based heart-health screening and intervention program. The primary goals of "L.I.F.E." through three rounds of grant funding remained constant: (a) to identify cardiovascular risk factors in…

Background: School-based body mass index (BMI) measurement has attracted much attention across the nation from researchers, school officials, legislators, and the media as a potential approach to address obesity among youth. Methods: An expert panel, convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2005, reviewed and provided…

Background: Childhood obesity is a major public health threat. Increased fitness may have a positive influence on cognitive performance in both adults and children. Purpose: To examine which aspects of children's fitness assessment are associated with their performance on four different academic areas. Methods: FITNESSGRAM measures aerobic…

Plagued by one of the most overweight populaces in the country, the state of West Virginia was looking for a solution to its obesity problem that would appeal to the school-age crowd. It turned to Linda Carson, a professor at West Virginia University's School of Physical Education. Carson recalled witnessing kids lining up in an arcade to play a…

Schools are an important resource in combating the physical inactivity and obesity epidemics in rural economically depressed areas. Through a University-community partnership, teachers and adolescents in a rural West Virginia county with one of the highest obesity rates in the state developed a school-based research intervention to increase…

In an age of rising obesity rates, more students are getting fit in school with the help of the video game series Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and similar games. Some educators caution that while the trend is positive overall, technology should only supplement--not replace--traditional physical activity, such as running, aerobics, and other…

Overweight children would not be the first thing a visitor to Grafton, West Virginia, would think of when seeing the small farms that cling to steep hillsides and cultivate the bottomland along the Tygart River as one drives into town. Like most of the state, the landscape around this village nods to pastoral enterprise, suggesting a place where…