The purpose of this integrative review of research is to contribute to knowledge about the relation between teaching physical education (PE) and discourses of body weight. The review consists of summarising and synthesising features focusing on how discourses on the relation between teaching PE and body weight in scientific literature in different…

Few fat kids enjoy physical education in school. Uniforms that do not fit, activities that have not been modified for fat bodies, taunting from peers and anti-fat bias from teachers, all of these result in a hostile environment that removes the joy associated with movement and exercise for fat kids. This is further reinforced as they are taught…

Led by an Australian team who witnessed the proliferation of local and global private companies, foundations and semi-government services seeking to 'partner' with schools, this special issue seeks to unpack global patterns in the 'outsourcing' of curricula. More specifically, using the 'problems' of obesity and mental health, the project aims to…

Although outdoor play has been widely recognised for the many benefits it affords children, some have rationalised the need for it based on goals related to physical health. More specifically, these instrumental goals have been closely related to obesity, overweight, and/or physical (in)activity. Adhering to obesity discourses and the notion of a…

Background: African American adolescent girls have the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity and the lowest levels of physical activity when compared to their peers, putting them at risk for a future of chronic diseases. Data from several studies have identified hair management as a perceived barrier to physical activity among African…

Low physical activity and sedentary lifestyle have been contributing to overweight/obesity in children worldwide. In response to this, school health and physical education (HPE) programmes have been introduced to assist children to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. Teacher education colleges have been introducing training programmes to…

Background: Population health concerns related to physical inactivity and obesity appear in policy documents, government campaigns and popular media across western societies. Children and young people have been targeted for physical activity promotion and schools have been positioned as sites for intervention. In particular, Physical Education and…

Healthy eating is important to overall health, but Canadian health agencies disagree on the degree to which lifestyle or society determines healthy eating. The authors review the literature and design a policy analysis framework that captures discursive elements of both arguments. They apply this framework to education policy, analysing the…

This collection of fact sheets includes: (1) Alcohol and Drug Use; (2) Bullying and Suicidal Behaviors; (3) Dietary Behaviors; (4) Disease Prevention and Health Care Access; (5) Injury Risk and Violence Behaviors; (6) Physical Inactivity; (7) Sexual Behaviors; (8) Tobacco Use Behaviors; and (9) Weight Management. [For "[West Virginia Youth…

This collection of fact sheets includes: (1) Alcohol and Drug Use; (2) Bullying and Suicidal Behaviors; (3) Dietary Behaviors; (4) Disease Prevention and Health Care Access; (5) Injury Risk and Violence; (6) Physical Inactivity; (7) Sexual Behaviors; (8) Tobacco Use; and (9) Weight Management. [For "[West Virginia Youth Risk Behavior/School…

This article argues for a new direction in research on health education within physical education (PE). Governments are increasingly looking to schools as a convenient form of public health investment. PE is implicated in health because of its core focus on physical activity, but there is little evidence to suggest that PE improves health…

Given that the health of the nation is often interpreted in and through the health of the nation's youth, the threat of the "childhood obesity epidemic" garners much attention and it is hardly surprising that physical education has been recruited in the "war on [childhood] obesity". This paper explores how students aged 13-15…

Nowadays, thanks to greater awareness of society and development of restorative medicine, more and more attention is paid to preventive care. That is caused by the fact that there is little progress for both sexes in the frequency of healthy behavior: girls fall much worse than boys in terms of frequency of physical activity, they do not eat…

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…

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of physical education (PE) interventions designed to foster health features among school-aged children, and to present a qualitative perspective of the different approaches that are most effective in promoting health among youth. Design: Systematic review. Method: An extensive electronic literature search was…