Objective: To examine racial/ethnic differences in weight perception by sex among U.S. college students. Participants: a national sample (N = 70,267) of college students selected from 2- and 4-year postsecondary institutions (N = 62) during the Fall semester from 2011 to 2014. Methods: This is a secondary data analysis using 4 years of American…

Smoking and obesity are chief causes of mortality, morbidity, and medical expenditure. However, few studies have investigated the linkage between subjective obesity status and smoking behavior. This study examines whether females in a normal body mass index range who perceive themselves as obese are more likely to smoke than those who do not…

Objective: To examine the relationship of exercise with overweight and obesity among an ethnically diverse sample of U.S. children. Method: Data from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health were analyzed to examine the relationship of daily exercise with children's weight status. Propensity score covariate adjustment and multivariate…

Background: Income disparities in US youth in academic achievement appear to widen during the summer because of discontinued learning among children from lower-income households. Little is known about whether behavioral risk factors for childhood obesity, such as diet and physical activity, also demonstrate a widening difference by income when…

Obesity, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in childhood are important indicators of present and future health and are associated with school-related outcomes such as academic achievement, behavior, peer relationships, and self-esteem. Using logistic regression models that controlled for gender, age, ethnicity/race, and socioeconomic…

Problem: Sexual identity and sex of sexual contacts can both be used to identify sexual minority youth. Significant health disparities exist between sexual minority and nonsexual minority youth. However, not enough is known about health-related behaviors that contribute to negative health outcomes among sexual minority youth and how the prevalence…

Problem: Priority health-risk behaviors contribute to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among youth and adults. Population-based data on these behaviors at the national, state, and local levels can help monitor the effectiveness of public health interventions designed to protect and promote the health of youth nationwide. Reporting…

The third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) data was used to describe relationships between activity intensity and frequency and obesity for US adult men (n = 7428) and non-pregnant women (n = 8140). Compared with active men and women, inactive and partially active men and women are at increased risk of obesity (OR =…

Associations between exercise and risky behaviors were examined. Runners, walkers, and tennis (RWT) players were less likely to be obese or have risky behaviors than participants in team and other sports, possibly because some team and exercise behaviors are part of riskier lifestyles, whereas RWT are integral to healthy lifestyles. (SM)