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…

Background: Obesity rates are rising in the United States, especially among low-income and racial/ethnic minority individuals. Exploring motivators and barriers relative to engaging in physical activity is imperative. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify motivators and barriers relative to engagement in physical activity as reported…

Background: Increasing physical activity in youth is a recommended approach to curbing the childhood obesity epidemic. One way to help increase children's daily activity is to promote active transportation to and from school (ATS). Purpose: The purpose of this case study was to explore parental perception of, and participation in, ATS initiatives.…

Background: Overeating is often attributed to emotions and has been linked to psychological challenges and obesity. Purpose: This study investigated the effect of emotional and external cue eating on obesity and the correlation of emotional and external cue eating with positive and negative psychological factors, as well as early familial eating…

This study examined the prevalence of selected clinical preventive health services, health status indicators, health risk behaviors, and health-promoting behaviors among adults aged 18 to 24 years in the general U.S. population. The study analyzed data from the 2003 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Nearly 30% of young adults lacked…

Although studies regarding health issues and the obesity epidemic have increased in recent years, few of these studies target college-aged students. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the differences in race/ethnicity with respect to prevalence of overweight/obesity (defined by body mass index or BMI) among college students…

Background: University-community partnerships can support schools in implementing evidence-based responses to youth obesity trends. An inter-organizational partnership was established to implement and evaluate the Healthy Choices Collaborative Intervention (HCCI). HCCI combines an interdisciplinary curriculum, before/after school activities, and…

This paper examines the availability of soft drinks in schools ("pouring rights contracts") and its effects on the growing nutritional problems of American youth. Of special concern is the prevalence of overweight youth, which has been increasing at alarming rates. There has been a direct relationship found between soft drink consumption and…

Children and adolescents in the United States are increasingly overweight at younger ages. Many studies have investigated the issue from the perspective of professionals and other adults. This study assessed early adolescents' perceptions regarding the magnitude of, effects of, causes of, solutions for, and learning preferences related to…

A large national database (U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2001) was analyzed for age, sex, race/ethnicity and television viewing among American adolescents aged 12-18 years. Body Mass Indices (BMI) were calculated from self-reported height and weight. Ninety-fifth percentile and above was classified as obese; [less…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to evaluate the relationship between emotional eating and spiritual well-being. It was found that among college women lower levels of spiritual well-being correlated with higher levels of emotional eating (r = -0.22, p = 0.0015). In other studies emotional eating has been found to contribute to higher…

The economic cost for the United States from heart disease, diabetes, and cancer is estimated at $71 billion annually. Along with this trend, the prevalence of obesity in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. To date, all interventions related to the prevention and treatment of obesity have failed. We must find a new way to prevent…

Epidemic levels of obesity represent a growing public health problem associated with a variety of negative health outcomes. Population level interventions that aim to moderate obesigenic environments have been proposed but remain largely unimplemented. Standard individual level interventions that focus on dietary restraint have been ineffective…

At the national level, obesity and obesity-related illnesses are increasing dramatically. As with many other public health problems, some racial and ethnic populations are disproportionately affected. This article presents current information on the prevalence and consequences of obesity for racial and ethnic groups in the United States and…

This article describes the development and validation of an instrument designed to measure the concept of intuitive eating. To ensure face and content validity for items used in the Likert-type Intuitive Eating Scale (IES), content domain was clearly specified and a panel of experts assessed the validity of each item. Based on responses from 391…