Overweight and obesity are common in school-age children. Policy, system, and environmental (PSE) approaches--which entail making upstream changes to a school's context--can be leveraged to reduce childhood obesity. Nurses can advance PSE approaches in schools to promote healthy living habits. This review examines the effect of nurse-involved PSE…

This study examined mediating effects of body weight control behaviors in the relationship between body weight perception and health-related behaviors among 11,458 U.S. adolescents from the 2010 National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey. Parallel multiple mediation analysis was performed for the secondary data analysis. Nearly one…

To assess the prevalence of weight misperception in American adolescents and its association with diet and physical activity behaviors, "Youth Risk Behavior Survey" data were utilized for this study. Based on reported and perceived weight, adolescents in the study were grouped into four categories (true negative [52.4%] = normal body…

Obesity prevention in youth is a health priority, and teaching healthy habits toward this end is one of a school nurse's many responsibilities. A school nurse developed and implemented a school-wide, 2-week-long Activity and Nutrition Challenge (ANC) using the evidence-based 5-2-1-0 initiative to prevent and fight childhood obesity. Despite…

This mixed-methods community-based participatory pilot study examined the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of group obesity management visits offered through school-based health centers. The study was implemented through an academic-community partnership in three school health centers serving primarily Latinx and African American youth.…

Although obesogenic behaviors (physical activity and/or sedentary behavior and dietary intake) are known predictors of childhood weight status, little is known about mother and child behaviors contributing to obesogenic behaviors and obesity in Hispanic preschool children, whose obesity rate is higher than in non-Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic…

Consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables helps to reduce childhood obesity and improves academic achievement and attendance. However, providing fresh fruits and vegetables is challenging for some schools due to cost, administrative burden, and concern for food waste. To address these challenges, the Fruit and Vegetable Access for Children Act…

Guided by the social cognitive theory, this randomized controlled trial tested the "Make a Move," a provider-led intervention for Head Start parents aimed to produce changes in the outcomes of knowledge, attitude, and behavior of physical activity and healthy eating. Participants were parents of children ages 3-5 years enrolled in a Head…

Despite national guidelines for regular physical activity, most adolescents are not physically active. Schools serve an estimated 60 million youth and provide an educational environment to meet the current physical activity guidelines. The obesity epidemic and chronic disease comorbidities associated with physical inactivity are not likely to be…

African American (AA) girls aged 10-12 living in urban communities designated as food deserts have a significantly greater prevalence of overweight and obesity than girls that age in the general population. The purpose of our study was (a) to examine the agreement in nutritional intake between AA girls aged 10-12 and their mothers and (b) to…

School-based childhood obesity prevention programs have grown in response to reductions in child physical activity (PA), increased sedentariness, poor diet, and soaring child obesity rates. Multiple systematic reviews indicate school-based obesity prevention/treatment interventions are effective, yet few studies have examined the school nurse role…

The school environment is an ideal setting for healthy weight programming with adolescents. The federal government has reinforced the importance of school-based health promotion. The current study examined the preliminary influence of the 2006 school wellness policy requirement of the "Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act"…

Childhood obesity prevalence rates in the United States are the highest in the rural Appalachian areas. Teens mentoring younger children to reverse obesity health risks are an understudied approach. This randomized-controlled trial compared the effects of two curriculum delivery methods and assessed the mediating effects of the number of sessions…

This study aims to examine the relationship between sleep duration and body mass index (BMI) in two South Korean samples: children and adolescents. Nationally representative secondary data (i.e., the Korean Survey on the Obesity of Youth and Children) collected in 2009 were analyzed ("N" = 2,499 for children and "N" = 7,431 for…

Reliable measures of growth in children are necessary for planning and evaluating obesity prevention programs. Currently, measured growth data are unavailable in Calgary for school-age children. This single sample, cross-sectional study included Grade 5 students and their parents. Height and weight measurements of 305 students (68% of those…