Childhood obesity is one of the most serious challenges of the 21st century and it is vital that evidence-based treatment approaches can be translated into practice to meet public health needs. Yet policy-makers cannot afford to wait for the results of lengthy trials before "probably efficacious" interventions are made available to the public, and…

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…

The purpose of this article is to bring attention to the 10 most pressing questions relevant to musculoskeletal physical fitness testing in children and adolescents. The goal is to stimulate research to answer these questions. The most pressing needs include establishing definitive links between valid, reliable, and feasible field test measures of…

Childhood obesity rates in America have tripled in the last three decades. Almost one in three children are considered overweight or obese. Pediatricians are now treating children for adult diseases like type II diabetes and hypertension. All parents want the best for their children. They want children to succeed in school, fulfill their dreams,…

The purposes of this study were to generate correction equations for self-reported height and weight quartiles and to test the accuracy of the body mass index (BMI) classification based on corrected self-reported height and weight among 739 male and 434 female college students. The BMIqc (from height and weight quartile-specific, corrected…

The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between health-related quality of life (QoL), disability, and degree of obesity. Adult obese patients (BMI greater than 30) were consecutively enrolled in this cross-sectional observational study. The WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHO-DAS II) and the short version of the impact of weight…

The focus of this research study was the exploration of the phenomenon of stigmatization of obese persons by nurses. The philosophical tradition of Phenomenology based on Heidegger's view of the person guided the researchers in uncovering the meaning of stigmatization for eight chronically ill individuals with a body mass index greater than 30.…

In response to the dramatic rise in childhood obesity, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other organizations have advocated increasing the time that elementary school children spend in physical education (PE) classes. However, little is known about the effect of PE on child weight. This paper measures that effect by instrumenting for child…

Obesity describes an abnormally high fat accumulation that impairs health. It is crudely measured by a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 30 kg/sq meters. Obesity now ranks among the highest of concerns by the World Health Organization (WHO) and not only in countries of affluence; the figures of obesity worldwide have doubled since 1980 and the…

Objectives: We sought to explore the association between childhood maltreatment (e.g., neglect, physical and sexual abuse) and longitudinal growth trajectories of body mass index (BMI) from adolescence to young adulthood. Methods: We used latent curve modeling to examine data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 8,471),…

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate and compare local to national averages in college-aged students' sleep disturbances, as well as further investigate key demographics (obesity classification, gender, race, year in college) among sleep issues. Methods: This study investigated 636 undergraduate students (333 males, 303 Females,…

Evidence is building regarding the association between inadequate amounts of sleep and the risk of obesity, especially in younger children. Less is known about the relationship between change in sleep and change in weight during adolescence. The objective of this study was to examine the longitudinal relationship between change in sleep duration…

Given the short-and long-term health implications associated with overweight and obesity plus the likelihood of overweight or obesity to continue into adulthood, addressing the causes of overweight and obesity in childhood is a significant public health concern. One underlying cause of overweight and obesity is insufficient physical activity. The…

The Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) provides grants to districts and community-based organizations (CBOs) to initiate, expand, and improve physical education for students in kindergarten through grade 12. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Education issued new regulations for PEP that included the following: (1) requiring grantees to…

Study aim: To examine the pedometer steps taken during the school-day by American Indian children during all four seasons. Material and methods: Participants included third-sixth grade children (n = 157) aged 9.6 plus or minus 1.07 (boys) and 9.7 plus or minus 1.2 (girls) attending school from one Southwestern US American Indian community.…