We present findings from a pilot implementation of the Extension Wellness Ambassador Program, a health-focused master volunteer program, and briefly describe the program approach and purpose. Program participants received 40 hr of training and completed assessments of self-efficacy, physical activity, and functional fitness at baseline and 3-month…

Students who are overweight or obese generally have low physical ability and fitness levels, experience serious weight-related health implications, are teased and excluded by their peers, and suffer psycho-social and emotional damages as a result of weight stigma. Overweight and obese students have presented an unprecedented challenge for teachers…

Background: Youth in the United States have low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, a risk factor for childhood obesity. Lower levels of physical fitness for black and Hispanic youth contribute to health disparities. In this feasibility study, we examined active video games (AVGs) as a tool to improve fitness and attitudes toward physical…

Digital technologies are now considered important in shaping young people's engagement in and with health and physical activity. Recent discussions show that the use of digital technologies to track health and fitness may over-emphasize the linear understanding of the body and health generally underpinned by Western health ideologies such as…

The aim of this study is to examine the association between physical fitness and 2D:4D finger ratio of high school students engaged actively in sports. 23 licensed male athletes and 23 sedentary (n=46) high school students participated in the study voluntarily. The participants age, body weight, body mass index, 2D:4D finger measurement values…

Purpose: An objective database for physical education (PE) is important for policy and practice decisions, and the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) has been identified as an appropriate surveillance tool for PE across the nation. The purpose of this review was to assess peer-reviewed studies using SOFIT to study K-12 PE in…

The decline in physical activity (PA) from youth to young adulthood is evident, though limited research has addressed whether specific factors of K-12 physical education (PE) have any influence on outcomes during college years. This study examined the relationship between college students' physical fitness and PA behavior and their high school PE…

We aimed to assess the impact of Project Spraoi: a school-based physical activity (PA) and nutrition intervention that reached 473 primary school children and 43 school staff in Cork (Ireland). Four primary schools (2 intervention, 2 control) with similar characteristics participated and for 2 school years, intervention schools were assigned an…

Objective: This study investigated relative associations between physical activity and selected predisposing, reinforcing and enabling factors among 9- to 10-year-old children from socially disadvantaged communities and examined the extent to which these associations varied by sex. Design: Cross-sectional design. Setting: Ten public primary…

Quality physical education is the central component to a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP; CDC, 2013). This review begins with a summary of the benefits of physical activity (PA) participation for youth and outlines current PA recommendations and trends. Next, an introduction to the National Framework of Physical Education and…

Most people are aware of the important influence that physical activity has on health outcomes and quality of life, and it has become increasingly important to be able to determine how much physical activity individuals participate in on a regular basis so that tracking of behavior change can occur and individual or population interventions can be…

Purpose: Conceptual physical education (CPE) classes have been widely offered to promote a healthy lifestyle in higher education settings. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of a CPE course on health-related fitness (HRF) levels among college freshmen. Design/methodology/approach: A pre- and post-test research design was used. In…

Physical education (PE) can make meaningful contributions to public health by directly providing moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA) opportunities for school-aged youth. Quality PE aims to contribute indirectly to PA beyond the school day. Unfortunately, insufficient evidence exists regarding the impact of PE on lifelong PA. This has led…

Despite the ethnicity of an individual college student, a majority of college students do not partake in the recommended amount of exercise according to the American College Health Association (2013). Therefore, both the obesity and overweight rates with college students were reported as 29% in 2000 and 32.5% in 2009 (ACHA, 2010). The purpose of…

According to SHAPE America, quality physical education promotes physical literacy by addressing five core standards: motor skills, knowledge, health-related fitness, personal and social behavior, and values. The purpose of this article is to introduce a physical literacy index, identify resources that could be used to assess physical literacy, and…