Background: The purpose of this investigation was to determine if waist-to-height ratio (WHTR) or body mass index (BMI) is the better indicator of cardiovascular disease risk in children and adolescents of varying ages. Methods: Data from children and adolescents (N?=?2300) who were part of the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination…

Background: Lifetime educational attainment is an important predictor of health and well-being for women in the United States. In this study, we examine the roles of sociocultural factors in youth and an understudied biological life event, pubertal timing, in predicting women's lifetime educational attainment. Methods: Using data from the National…

Background: Active travel to school has been on the decline, despite its beneficial influence on children's current and future well-being. Adults' safety perceptions have been shown to influence children's active travel. Children's perceptions, particularly of safety, may be an important link not only to their present health and travel behaviors,…

Background: Bullying is a widespread problem for school-aged children and adolescents. Interventions to reduce bullying are not well disseminated. Extracurricular involvement is, however, common. This study aims to examine the relationship between parent-reported participation in extracurricular activities and bullying perpetration. Methods: Using…

Background: Children's physical activity (PA) levels remain low, and schools are being asked to assume a leadership role in PA promotion. Research suggests outdoor recess contributes to children's overall PA levels. However, similar research is not available for indoor recess, which occurs frequently due to a variety of factors. The purpose of…

Background: Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) may play a role in increased rates of obesity. This study examined patterns and frequencies of beverage consumption among youth in 3 distinct regions in Canada, and examined associations between beverage consumption and age, sex, body mass index (BMI), physical activity and dieting behavior, as well as…

Background: The school environment is an important context for understanding risk factors for teen dating violence. This study seeks to add to the growing literature base linking adolescent experiences with bullying and involvement with teen dating violence. Methods: Data were collected from 27,074 adolescents at 58 high schools via a Web-based…

Background: "NEEDs for Bones" (NFB), based on the Health Belief Model, is a 4-lesson osteoporosis-prevention curriculum for 11- to 14-year-olds. This study examined the relationship between enjoyment of food tastings and interest in NFB. Methods:NFB was administered by teachers as part of standard practice and evaluated after the fourth…

Background: Early sex is associated with high-risk behaviors and outcomes, including sexual risk behaviors, forced sex, physical dating violence, and becoming pregnant or impregnating someone. Methods: Using 2005 and 2007 data from the New York City Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N = 17,220), this study examined the prevalence of early sex among…

Background: Children spend most of their awake time at school, and it is important to identify individual and school-level correlates of their physical activity (PA) levels. This study aimed to identify the between-school variability in Portuguese children PA and to investigate student and school PA correlates using multilevel modeling. Methods:…

Background: Research on physical fitness often regards socioeconomic status (SES) as a confounding factor. However, few studies investigate the impact of SES on fitness. This study investigated the impact of SES on physical fitness in both males and females, with an economic-based construct of SES. Methods: The sample consisted of 954 6th, 7th,…

Background: With a view toward developing concerted efforts in fostering healthy eating habits and a physically active lifestyle among young people, a study was carried out to explore associations between eating behavior and physical activity (PA). Methods: In the school district, questionnaires were completed at home by parents of primary school…

Background: A pan-Canadian School Travel Planning intervention promoted active school travel (AST). A novel component was exploring emotion, well-being, and travel mode framed by the concept of "sustainable happiness." Relationships between travel mode and emotions, parent perceptions of their child's travel mode on well-being, and…

Background: Little is known regarding youth perceptions of tap water and school water fountains and how these relate to water and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake. Methods: We used national 2010 YouthStyles data to assess perceptions of tap water and school water fountains and associations with water and SSB intake. Results: Nearly 1 in 5…

Background: Socioeconomic status (SES) influences students' school perceptions and affects their performance, engagement, and personal beliefs. This study examined the effects of school population SES and school resources on the association between student SES and student perceptions. Methods: School liking, classmate social relationships, family…