Background: Weight bias is a pervasive problem for adolescents in school contexts. Despite evidence of negative attitudes towards students who are overweight, comparatively little research has examined whether teachers provide biased assessments of student work. Aims: The purpose of this study was to experimentally test whether middle and high…

Background: Whole-of-community interventions have been recommended and show promise for preventing obesity; however, research to understand the mechanisms underlying their success or failure is lacking. Complex systems approaches may be useful to address this gap. Purpose: To describe the evolution and utilization of qualitative and quantitative…

Background: A nutritious diet can prevent obesity and chronic disease and improve academic performance, yet many children have energy-dense, nutrient-poor diets. The objective of this study was to assess nutrition policies, practices, and environments in Georgia Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) elementary schools and…

Gaining weight above the Institute of Medicine recommended range contributes to the development of obesity, which increases risk for diseases. We evaluated the effectiveness of an educational program with the spouse's participation on the optimal gestational weight gain (GWG) in pregnancy. We conducted a randomized controlled trial on 128…

Obesity and diabetes are two of the biggest public health problems in the modern world. One possible way to combat the rising prevalence of these diseases is through the spread of awareness about its consequences and how to prevent them. Therefore, educational interventions focused on teaching the physiological basis of these conditions might be…

Evidence on neurophysiological correlates of coexisting autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and overweight/obesity may elucidate mechanisms leading to the observed greater risk of obesity in children with ASD. An exploratory secondary data analysis was performed on resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data of children…

Background: Through the Texas Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration study, we implemented and evaluated a system-oriented model of primary and secondary prevention approaches to mitigate obesity among low-income Texas children aged 2 to 12 years. Primary prevention included implementing the Coordinated Approach To Child Health Early Childhood…

Purpose: To evaluate whether excess body mass influences the heart rate variability (HRV) indexes at rest, and to correlate adiposity indicators and the aerobic fitness with cardiac autonomic variables in metabolically healthy young adults. Method: In all, 41 untrained males (M[subscript age] = 21.80, SD = 2.14 years), 14 normal weight…

Background: We examined written language in Wisconsin school wellness policies (SWPs) for federal mandate compliance, quality related to obesity prevention, and school characteristics associated with variations in quality. This is the first near census of Wisconsin SWPs and examines whether adhering to federal mandates results in strong policies…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether weight-related attitudes mediate the effect of goal orientation on cultural pluralism and diversity attitudes among pre-service physical educators. Results from 235 (Mage = 20.91 years, SD = 7.75) participants confirm the positive relationship between task orientation and attitudes toward…

It has been suggested that physical education (PE) teachers hold strong anti-fat attitudes and that these can have an impact on the health of their students. In this study, we compare the attitudes and stereotypes towards obesity of PE teachers with those of their colleagues who teach mathematics. In addition, we evaluated the association between…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine how transtheoretical model (TTM) constructions change through nutrition education for fat intake modification among overweight and obese women living in Shazand city, Iran. Design/methodology/approach: A semi-experimental design with intervention and control groups (50 women in each group) was…

Purpose: Evidence shows that region of country is a critical factor in understanding diabetes-related health disparities. The purpose of this study was to examine whether geographic location (southern states vs. other states) attenuate or strengthen the relationship between state diabetes rates and (a) race/ethnicity, (b) income, and (c)…

Led by an Australian team who witnessed the proliferation of local and global private companies, foundations and semi-government services seeking to 'partner' with schools, this special issue seeks to unpack global patterns in the 'outsourcing' of curricula. More specifically, using the 'problems' of obesity and mental health, the project aims to…

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of health-related knowledge and aerobic exercise on lower secondary school students' obesity awareness and physical activity levels. A total of 50 obese and 20 normal-weight female students, ranging in age from 12-14 (mean 12.10±1.7), participated in the study. Obesity awareness was determined…