Coordinated systems are required to ensure evidence-informed practice and evaluation of community-based interventions (CBIs). Knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) strategies show promise, but these require evaluation. This paper describes implementation and evaluation of COOPS, a national KTE platform to support best practice in obesity…

Purpose: To treat childhood obesity, health education interventions are often aimed at the whole family. However, such interventions seem to have a relatively limited effect on weight loss. The purpose of this paper is to examine how families enrolled in a family-based health education intervention manage the intervention in their daily lives and…

Malawi is a Sub-Saharan African country experiencing the epidemiological transition from predominantly infectious to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) with dramatically increasing prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. Malawi's 2011-2016 Health Sector Strategic Plan included NCDs, and an NCD Control…

Remedying childhood obesity cannot take place without first identifying relevant issues commonly influencing gatekeepers of food for children as well as the role modeling for encouraging or discouraging daily activities. Children cannot drive to the store, form grocery lists or complete menu management tasks without adult assistance. Excessive…

Objective: As part of a national effort to prevent and control obesity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Nutrition and Physical Activity Program to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases (NPAO) provides funding to states to improve access to healthful food and increase opportunities for physical activity. The CDC also…

Background: The international prevalence of childhood obesity and obesity-related diseases has received increasing attention. Applying data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we explore relationships between childhood obesity and school type, National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) eligibility,…

Background: Limited data indicate that obese children are absent from school more than their normal-weight peers. We analyzed administrative data from a large urban school district to investigate the association of obesity and student sociodemographic characteristics with absenteeism. Methods: We analyzed 291,040 records, representing 165,056…

Unhealthy diets, lack of fitness, and obesity are serious problems in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control, Surgeon General, and Department of Health and Human Services are calling for action to address these problems. Scientists and educators at Baylor College of Medicine and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute teamed…