Approximately 1/3 of the children in the United States are overweight or obese. Children in Mississippi have the highest rate of obesity among all other states. The outcome of this epidemic presents an increase in poor health. To address the problems associated with overweight and obesity among children, schools in the U.S. were required to…

With the introduction of technology into our daily lives, the need for physical exertion has decreased, which has led to an increase in sedentary lifestyles. Sedentary lifestyles lead to the state of obesity, and nearly two-thirds of the Unites States' adult population is considered overweight or obese. This has resulted in a reduced quality of…

Despite the many proven benefits of exercise, obesity rates on college campuses continue to rise. At the same time, physical activity (PA) courses are being reduced or cut at various educational institutions. The loss of PA courses creates a problem because college students do not receive the necessary education they need in relation to the…

The worksite can be an effective arena to elicit health behavior change. Worksite health promotion programs now exist in 90% of all companies with more than 50 employees. These programs have become prevalent due to the high rates of obesity and lifestyle related diseases that are present in the United States. The purpose of this study was to…

An increasing number of studies are finding a relationship between obesity and Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), although little is known about the potential mechanisms underlying this relationship. The present study examines this potential relationship and possible underlying mechanisms of maladaptive eating patterns and…

The purpose of the researcher was to evaluate the effectiveness of webinar training for K-12 school personnel in childhood obesity prevention tools and resources provided by the North Carolina Prevention Partners (NCPP). A mixed method sequential research design was used to evaluate the training across the first three levels of the Kirkpatrick…

Researchers that investigate the media's coverage of health have historically relied on keyword searches to retrieve relevant health news coverage, and manual content analysis methods to categorize and score health news text. These methods are problematic. Manual content analysis methods are labor intensive, time consuming, and inherently…

The purpose of this study is to make transparent the current National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The first mission of this project is to clarify how the NSLP functions on a day-to-day basis in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus is used as a sample city, yet the aim of this research is to be transferable to other locations. The second objective is to…

Childhood obesity is a prevalent subject of research currently, and many researchers have studied the effectiveness of school programs in battling obesity among students. This case study, utilizing ethnographic tools of observation, interviews, and investigation of artifacts, examines educators' perceptions of the role of the school in the…

It has long been appreciated that adequate nutrition is required for proper immune function and it is now recognized that dietary components contribute to modulation of immune cells, subsequently impacting the whole body's response during an immune challenge. Macrophage activation plays a critical role in the immune system and directs the…

African-American youth experience disproportionate rates of childhood obesity compared to their White counterparts. Culturally tailored electronic media solutions hold the potential to overcome health literacy and health communication barriers. This study aimed to identify the impact of exposure to a new website portal…

Despite the recognized need to increase interdisciplinary collaboration, there are few information resources available to provide researchers with an overview of scientific communities--topics under investigation by various groups, and patterns of collaboration among groups. The tools that are available are designed for expert social network…

The goal of this dissertation was to investigate the impact of changing dietary carbohydrate (CARB) intakes within recommended dietary guidelines on metabolic outcomes specifically associated with glycemic regulations and carbohydrate metabolism. This research utilized both human and animal studies to examine changes in metabolism across a wide…

This study examines the overall results of the Physical Fitness Test (PFT) and the six fitness areas of the PFT, academic achievement, demographics and self perceptions and the potential impact on students' performance on the PFT. While academic expectations are increasing, the adolescent obesity rate is also increasing, producing a decline in the…

There is little research in the field of physical education on whether technology can help decrease the level of childhood obesity in physical education classes or on why physical educators choose to use or not use technology in their programs. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine physical educators' beliefs and practices…