According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diabetes prevention represents a critical need for the health education curriculum, given the rise of the disease and its precondition for today's youth. An active understanding of diabetes encourages young people to take control of the nutritional and exercise factors that keep the…

In the United States, childhood obesity continues to increase at unprecedented rates. School-based occupational therapists can play a more significant role in health promotion and obesity prevention efforts in the school setting. Since this is a relatively new role for occupational therapists, there is still a tremendous gap in the literature…

This article presents an analytic approach to assessing the relationship between policy advocacy activities and outcomes for discrete episodes of advocacy, using a holistic array of factors that affect the relationship between advocacy and policy change. The factors pertain to not only advocacy organizational structure and strategies, but also the…

The rate of early childhood overweight and obesity in the United States has increased significantly over the last 30 years. The psychosocial risks of potential stigmatization and discrimination in an overweight child can cause low-esteem and/or reduced school performance. Overweight and obese children also face the increased health risks…

There is increasing evidence that parenting and feeding interact to influence children's eating behaviour and weight status. Interpretation of existing research is complicated by the lack of consensus in the conceptualisation and measurement of both "parenting" and "feeding", particularly the distinction between "styles", "dimensions" and…

U.S. health experts declared obesity an epidemic over a decade ago. Schools have tried to implement prevention programs for students, but as budgets shrink, educating students about obesity is increasingly falling to classroom instructors, including science teachers. The good news is that obesity-related classroom activities can be engaging, and…

Currently, there is a nationwide effort to include preschool-aged children in wellness efforts for the prevention of obesity. National resources include guidelines, best practices, and tip sheets to assist in the implementation of these interventions. The Let's Move! Child Care Checklist is a resource that can be used to assess the level at…

Healthy students perform better. Poor nutrition and inadequate physical activity can affect not only academic achievement, but also other factors such as absenteeism, classroom behavior, ability to concentrate, self-esteem, cognitive performance, and test scores. This toolkit provides information to help make schools the model for healthier…

An educational program targeting older adults was developed to increase knowledge regarding nutrition and eye health. With age, the chance for eye disease increases, so prevention is critical. The Eating for Your Eyes program has promoted behavior changes regarding eye health among the participants. This program is easily replicated and use is…

The federal school nutrition programs are the keystones to the diets of millions of American children. Schools have the opportunity to support healthy nutrition habits early in life by creating environments that encourage the consumption of healthy foods and beverages. This paper provides resources which offer general information about the…

Background: Obesity is a major concern among American Indians and Hispanics. The Child Health Initiative for Lifelong Eating and Exercise (CHILE) is an evidence-based intervention to prevent obesity in children enrolled in 16 Head Start (HS) Centers in rural communities. The design and implementation of CHILE are described. Methods: CHILE uses a…

This document provides resources for increasing physical activity and physical education in schools. It also offers case studies that examine two successful initiatives, one led by an elementary school principal in Washington, D.C., and the other by school leaders in Naperville, Illinois.

Health care providers could help achieve the necessary shift to healthful eating and active living; however, lack of coverage or reimbursement, lack of time, and limited information about appropriate interventions are some of the documented barriers. This report highlights the potential for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education…

Planning youth and family programming in the 21st century is daunting given family members' busy schedules. This is even more challenging when planning programs in rural areas, where there are vast distances between communities. This article discusses a research and educational outreach project that uses best practices in program development…

Child obesity research has generally not examined multiple layers of parent-child relationships during weight-related activities such as feeding, eating and play. A literature review was conducted to locate empirical studies that measured parent-child interactions and child eating and child weight variables; five papers met the inclusion criteria…