Background: There is a need for promoting exercise practice among people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Aquatic exercise (AE) could be a viable option in this regard.Objective: To identify and critically analyze the best available evidence concerning the effects of AE in the physical and mental health of people with ID. Methods: A systematic…

As noted in the first article in this National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Social Justice Committee (SJC) series on health disparities (see Proctor et al., 2020), health disparities are preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or in opportunities to achieve optimal health experienced by socially…

Background: The health of children is undeniably important. Especially with the soaring epidemic of childhood overweight and obesity, physical health is a large concern. Emotional health is also an area of great significance, because it is essential to overall health. Children's health promotion interventions have been developed and implemented;…

Background: We have demonstrated previously that patterns of behavioral adherence in the first 6 months of behavioral lifestyle interventions were associated with significant weight loss at 18 months. In this article, we extend this work to examine patterns of behavioral adherence over 18 months and to explore baseline demographic and psychosocial…

Obesity and weight management in children and youth continue to be challenging to address, affecting one-third of children and adolescents in the United States. Fewer than half of children (ages 6-11 years) and 8% of adolescents meet recommendations for daily physical activity. However, exergaming (a physical form of controlling video games) has…

Previous research suggests obesity is negatively related to cognitive functioning and academic outcomes in addition to physical health. However, not much is known about this association in early childhood or potential physiological underpinnings. Biomarkers related to obesity have been associated with cognition, in particular the adipokine leptin,…

Objective: To describe the relationships between the cardiovascular health, lifestyle behaviors, and lifestyle beliefs among college-aged students. Participants: Seven hundred and twenty-nine college-aged students participated between October 2016 and April 2017. Methods: Heart checks, consisting of a cross-sectional survey and biometric…

Children's physical education in early childhood settings has always been underpinned by an emphasis on play. This is viewed as foundational for child development (movement education, cognitive growth, socialising functions, emotional development). However, where priorities about childhood obesity prevail, increased 'prevention' efforts have…

The World Health Organization's Health Promoting Schools (HPS) framework is a whole-school approach to promoting health that recognizes the intrinsic relationship between health and education. Our recent Cochrane systematic review found HPS interventions produced improvements in a number of student health outcomes. Here we reflect on what this…

Background: Obesity is a major health problem in people with intellectual disabilities. It is also widely accepted that low-grade systemic inflammation associated to obesity plays a key role in the pathogenic mechanism of several disorders. Fortunately, physical activity has shown to improve inflammation in people with metabolic syndrome and type…

Metabolic syndrome is highly prevalent in society gradually and has important implications for public health in recent years. The present study aims to examine the gender effect on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among adults with disabilities. A cross-sectional study was conduct to analyze annual health check-up chart of 419 people with…

The growing number of United States youth and adults categorized as overweight or obese illustrates a need for research-based family wellness interventions. Sequential, online, Extension-delivered family wellness interventions offer a time- and cost-effective approach for both participants and Extension educators. The 6-week, online Healthy…

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…

The worldwide rise in obesity makes this the first non-infectious epidemic in human history. The rapid increase is, in fact, influenced more by environment than biology. In an effort to halt the trend, Quebec has launched a major awareness-raising campaign that focuses on healthy environments and targets stakeholders in schools, municipalities,…

Refugees in the United States have high rates of chronic disease. Both long-term effects of the refugee experience and adjustment to the U.S. health environment may contribute. While there is significant research on health outcomes of newly resettled refugees and long-term mental health experiences of established refugees, there is currently…