This study examined the prevalence of selected clinical preventive health services, health status indicators, health risk behaviors, and health-promoting behaviors among adults aged 18 to 24 years in the general U.S. population. The study analyzed data from the 2003 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Nearly 30% of young adults lacked…

Increasingly sedentary lifestyles are contributing to overweight and other health concerns as children spend less and less time outside engaged in active play. Outdoor play provides important opportunities to explore the natural world, interact with peers, engage in vigorous physical activity, and learn about our environment. However, outdoor…

The images of fat professors encountered in popular culture are few in number and negative in depiction. In this article, the author discusses on how will the professorial body affect the way in which students perceive the professor's teaching abilities. The author concludes that bias against fat professors, professors of color, and other…

In the last four years Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) grants have been made available to physical educators with the purpose of combating the obesity crisis that plagues the country. Through an application process, and based on the needs of the school district, funds are awarded to help and assist physical education programs…

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, research indicates that today's children are not getting enough physical activity. One solution to this problem is to integrate other subjects into physical education. This article describes a successful physical education program for Pre-K children implemented at the Sheboygan Area…

Objective: To investigate overweight prevalence and socio-demographic and economic correlates in Chinese adolescents. Methods: Weight, height, waist circumference, and socio-demographic and economic variables of 6863 middle and high school students were measured. Results: 10% of girls and 17% of boys were overweight. Waist circumference and…

Prevention is the key strategy for controlling the current epidemic levels of childhood obesity. Current statistics show that obesity has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years. It is generally recognized that nutrition education for the…

The rate of obesity among school-age children has become a national concern, with the number of overweight children aged 6 to 11 more than tripling over the past three decades (U.S. Government Accountability Office 2005). In 2001, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, and in 2002,…

This meta-analytic review summarizes obesity prevention programs and their effects and investigates participant, intervention, delivery, and design features associated with larger effects. A literature search identified 64 prevention programs seeking to produce weight gain prevention effects, of which 21% produced significant prevention effects…

Body image dissatisfaction and eating disturbances are prevalent among youths and are beginning at an increasingly younger age. The glorification of the ideal, thin body type surrounds youths, in direct contrast to the increasing rates of overweight and obesity among the same population. The messages that children and adolescents are receiving are…

In this trial, adolescent girls with body dissatisfaction (N = 481, M age = 17 years) were randomized to an eating disorder prevention program involving dissonance-inducing activities that reduce thin-ideal internalization, a prevention program promoting healthy weight management, an expressive writing control condition, or an assessment-only…

In an age of rising obesity rates, more students are getting fit in school with the help of the video game series Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and similar games. Some educators caution that while the trend is positive overall, technology should only supplement--not replace--traditional physical activity, such as running, aerobics, and other…

The studies reported here explored whether therapeutic groups for women who eat compulsively can demonstrate weight loss as a primary result as well as the improvements in emotional functioning reported by other investigators. In both studies questionnaire data showed little change in self-esteem or attitudes as measured by the Rosenberg…

Researchers are only gradually becoming aware of the gravity of the risk that overweight and obesity pose for children's health. In this article Stephen Daniels documents the heavy toll that the obesity epidemic is taking on the health of the nation's children. He discusses both the immediate risks associated with childhood obesity and the…

Twenty-first century science and technology places new demands on educators to better prepare the next generation to acquire and maintain advanced levels of literacy and technological skill. Providing a variety of culturally diverse learning opportunities in family and consumer sciences (FCS) classrooms can open new doors to peace through…