Terah J. Stewart challenges us to think about our attitudes toward fatness and fat bodies and consider how our campuses marginalize people based on body size. He shares his students' stories of dreading to enter a classroom for fear of not finding a seat they can fit in or being publicly admonished for being unhealthy and lazy. Clearly, negative…

In Louisiana, 33% of adolescents and 28% of children are overweight or obese (Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, 2011). It is projected that as many as 24,000 more children in Louisiana may become obese by 2020 if the trend continues (Broyles et al., 2011). Researchers have identified several strategies to address overweight among…

A collaborative study abroad program (between one New Zealand and one U.S. university) on the theme of global health has been offered three times in Australia with 59 students registered to date. The course was developed because it is believed that higher education can play a role in improving global health through the fostering of global…

College students are a generally healthy lot. But as they grow heavier each year, reflecting the national rise in obesity rates, campus officials are trying to promote healthier habits--and, they hope, mitigate the impact of a sobering trend. More than one-third of college students have a body-mass index, the main measurement for obesity, that…

About a third of college students nationwide are overweight, and the proportion of obese students has increased, to 11.3% in 2009 from 8% in 2000, according to the American College Health Association. College students are still slimmer than other young adults, but campus officials worry about the upward trend. Many colleges feel it's their…

Objectives: This teaching idea enables students to (1) access and analyze fast food nutrition facts information (Calorie, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sugar, and sodium content); (2) decipher unhealthy and healthier food choices from fast food restaurant menus for better meal and diet planning to reduce obesity and minimize…

The American College Health Association estimates that three out of every 10 college students are overweight or obese. Both terms denote ranges of weight that are greater than what is considered healthy for a given height and have been shown to increase the likelihood of diseases. Over the past two decades, the number of American children who are…

Fun & Fit is a program designed to create positive physical activity experiences and to promote healthy lifestyle choices among overweight children from low-income African American and Hispanic American families. The program is a collaborative project between Texas Tech University and the Lubbock Independent School District funded through a…

At the Gates Chili High School near Rochester, New York, the cafeteria and kitchen are getting an overdue overhaul. Deep fryers and the fat-soaked foods that come dripping out of them are no longer welcome in the kitchens and dining halls of a growing number of the nation's schools and universities. Likewise, heavily marketed sugary soft drinks…

The overweight college student is faced not only with the normal anxieties of adolescence but also with the special stress of surviving in a new environment. The nurse practitioner can guide students to bear responsibility for good health and provide a sound nutritional framework for a weight loss program. (CJ)