Background: The COVID-19 pandemic imposed social isolation measures, which impacted the child population, especially regarding physical and mental health aspects. Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between sedentary behavior, cardiorespiratory fitness, immunoglobulin -A secretion, and anxiety symptoms in 267 children…

Physical fitness is associated with decreased weight in children, which helps improve youth obesity rates. Family programs can provide practical approaches to improving physical fitness for children. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of a family-based fitness intervention on changes in body composition, fitness status, and…

Background: School age children are expected to have a normal body mass index which is commensurate with their age group. The prevalence of childhood obesity and overweight is increasing in alarming rates in developing countries, with the highest rate in the Middle East region. School nurses' involvement in childhood obesity prevention practices…

Background: Internationally 18% of youth are obese. Fitness testing can be used to establish fitness surveillance, which can inform policy and targeted interventions aimed at addressing obesity. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and low fitness in Idaho school-aged youth through a pilot study.…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine differences in heart rate recovery (HRRec) and oxygen consumption recovery (VO2 recovery) between young healthy-weight children and children with obesity following a maximal volitional graded exercise test (GXTmax). Method: Twenty healthy-weight children and 13 children with obesity completed body…

As obesity rates rise among youth, physical education classrooms have become a resource for teaching children how to make lifelong changes that will lead to improved overall health. In addition, new curricula and government mandates are focusing on health-related fitness content and its application to lifelong fitness. As these components become…

Background: Walking and bicycling (active commuting) to school may be a useful strategy to increase the daily amount of physical activity, and, potentially, improve children's health. However, it is unclear whether active commuting to school (ACS) has the potential to improve physical health and cognitive performance in children. Our aim was to…

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;…

This paper takes on a different address to youth fitness testing from previous literature by applying a cross-cultural comparison of youth fitness testing in both the US and China. Utilizing a modified version of Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model, the chronosystem (historical evolution over time), and macrosystem (social and cultural vantage…

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…

The purpose of this research was to contribute to the childhood obesity mitigation literature by determining the PA preferences of obese/overweight (o/o) elementary students who participated in Club Fit!, a school-based PA program designed to engage the students in developmentally appropriate, moderate-vigorous PA and enhance their regard for PA…

BAckground: Reversing decline in physical fitness and increase in excess body weight in school children are considered major public health challenges. We evaluated a proposed model to integrate a screening and healthy exercise, eating, and lifestyle program (HEELP) into primary schools in Canberra, Australia. Objectives were: (1) to establish body…

Objective: This study assessed the impact of Partnerships for Active Children in Elementary Schools (PACES) on children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during physical education (PE) and teachers' incorporation of physical activity promotion strategies after one academic semester (i.e. 4 months) of the intervention. Design: Single…

Due to the growing obesity epidemic in the United States, educators must consider new ways to increase physical activity in an effort to address obesity. There are a variety of ways educators can increase physical activity in the classroom, and exergames--video games that require physical movement in order to play--are a modern-day approach to…