In 2009, Colorado had the lowest rate of obesity and overweight in the United States with less than 20% of the adult population considered obese or overweight. The health implications are serious because being overweight and/or obese increases the risks for chronic diseases. As a consequence, the incidence of Type II diabetes in adults has tripled…

The youth of today are faced with a big problem; they are becoming more obese every day. The time of children playing outside all day and being extremely active has been overtaken by the television and video games. The days of sitting down as a family and eating a good healthy meal has been replaced by the rush to the nearest fast food…

Because many college students engage in low levels of physical activity, the current study used a qualitative framework to interview 11 college students to examine the meaning physically active college students assign to the practice of fitness and health. Students discussed the importance of healthy eating, but that it was difficult to accomplish…

Implementation of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 will provide an opportunity for school nurses to intervene in the serious childhood obesity problem in the United States. Major changes in the management of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) will likely challenge schools yet may provide the impetus for a collaborative effort by the…

Planning youth and family programming in the 21st century is daunting given family members' busy schedules. This is even more challenging when planning programs in rural areas, where there are vast distances between communities. This article discusses a research and educational outreach project that uses best practices in program development…

The goal of the current study was to assess the efficacy and acceptability of a web-based tutorial (Child Health Matters, CHM) designed to improve school nurses' communications with families about pediatric weight-related health issues. Using a randomized wait-list control design, a nationally representative sample of school nurses was assigned to…

Background: African-American and Latino children living in neighborhoods with a low-socioeconomic index are more at risk of obesity-associated metabolic disease than their higher socioeconomic index and/or white peers. Currently, consistent and reliable questionnaires to evaluate nutrition and physical activity knowledge in these children are…

We describe the design of a school-based healthy lifestyle intervention for eight-year-old to nine-year-old school children from lower socio-economic backgrounds, intended to increase physical activity, decrease sedentary behaviours, reduce screen-time behaviours, encourage healthy attitudes and behaviours to nutrition, and reduce body mass index.…

Objective: Compare parent-reported preschool- and school-aged children's eating and leisure-time activity patterns that are proposed to influence energy balance. Design: Cross-sectional investigation of children, 2 to 12 years, attending a well visit. Setting: Pediatric private practice/ambulatory pediatric clinic. Participants: One hundred…

The effectiveness of online messages to change dietary intake and level of physical activity was assessed. Thirty-six volunteers completed a 26-item pre- and post-intervention online survey and received a total of 36 email messages about MyPyramid, food labels, healthier lifestyles, and physical activity. Participants reported increased fiber…

Objective: The goal of this study was to identify factors that college students perceived as contributing to healthy and unhealthy eating patterns, physical activity (PA) levels, and weight change. Participants: Forty-nine 18- to 22-year-old students at a midwestern university participated. Methods: Six focus groups (3 with each gender) were…

This article advances the literature on assessment of EFNEP's effectiveness. Factor analysis of Behavior Checklist items were performed to arrive at a parsimonious set of constructs used to assess the effects of program attributes on participants' behavior change. Based on the data from Michigan EFNEP, the use of constructs demonstrated a robust…

Part 1 of this article, which appeared in the April 2013 of JOPERD, presented the theoretical foundation and evidence-based needs for a main-theme curriculum model called Health Optimizing Physical Education (HOPE) for schools. It also described eight strands that could be used to plan, implement, and assess this version of a comprehensive school…

The lack of proper nutrition and physical activity can lead to increased weight gain and development of chronic diseases. Studies show a nationwide trend in the number of college aged individuals being classified as overweight according to BMI calculations. College is a time of transition from adolescence to adulthood where habits that began in…

Children in the United States are less active and more overweight today than at any time in history, and there has been a dramatic increase in obesity. Obesity can lead to physical and psychological health issues. Many adults recognize the health issues that can stem from childhood obesity, but may not be aware of the clear implication of the…