This guide for parents provides information about how they can determine if their child is overweight and what they can do if their child has a weight problem. Replies to many common questions of parents are provided. The issues addressed include: (1) determining whether a child is too fat; (2) assistance that can be provided by health care…

The Alabama Adolescent Health Survey was a comprehensive survey of the knowledge and behaviors of eighth- and tenth-grade students in the public schools. The sample consisted of 3,803 students from school systems that were rural, metropolitan, and mixed. The survey measured student attitudes toward, and knowledge of: (1) mental health; (2)…

Nutrition is well-recognized as a necessary component of educational programs for physicians. This is to be valued in that of all factors affecting health in the United States, none is more important than nutrition. This can be argued from various perspectives, including health promotion, disease prevention, and therapeutic management. In all…

While clinical populations of obese children have been shown to possess negative self-images, little evidence exists that overweight children in non-clinical populations are discriminated against by their peers or possess negative psychological self-evaluations. A study was conducted to examine the relationship among body type, sociometric…

A study was conducted to determine whether the images of "standard" or "acceptable" thinness that women suffering from eating disorders strive to achieve come primarily from advertising. A questionnaire was administered to 19 college women in counseling for anorexia, a control group of 29 college women, and to 30 high school women. The…

Relapses in alcoholics, smokers, and heroin users are frequently provoked by stress. Individuals often return to using addictive substances when feeling angry or frustrated as the result of negative mood states, interpersonal conflict, or social pressure. A behavioral weight-control program used to treat 140 overweight college students was…

This guide on nutrition instruction can be used on the school district level for curriculum development or by teachers as a basis for daily lesson planning. The text is arranged by topic, subtopic, objectives, learning activities, and teacher information. Topics include nutritional status, adolescent development, diet, body weight, and…

Intended for child health care providers, the text contains information on improving preventive efforts in nutrition, particurlarly those focused on prevention of the major health problems which are nutrition related (obesity, atherosclerosis, dental caries, and anemia). Part I focuses on screening of individual children likely to be at risk of…

This study investigated the specific learning abilities and general adjustment of 50 children, 5-14 years of age, who had pyloric stenosis (PS) in infancy, compared to 44 siblings and 50 matched control children. PS involves a period of brief starvation in early infancy, unrelated to socioeconomic conditions and is surgically correctable. The…

Are children intellectually impaired as a result of low birth weight and does relative impairment change as children grow older? Premature infants from a range of socioeconomic groups were studied in five rounds over 13 years to provide neurological, psychological, achievement, and sociological data on 582 children in three birth weight groups. A…

In June 1975, 62 men and 64 women living on commercial farms in Juniata County, Pennsylvania were interviewed regarding their behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes related to preventing cancer and coronary heart disease. Respondents represented about 22% of all adults living on commercial farms in the county. A commercial farm was defined as one that…

Family practice residents were studied to test the hypotheses that a higher incidence and greater severity of personal or emotional problems are associated with a higher incidence of maladaptive coping behaviors among women than men students. Implications for resident program design are discussed. (MSE)

Compared the psychological adjustment of high school boys and girls trying to reduce or gain weight. Reducers of both sexes and male gainers exhibited lower physical self-esteem. Girls trying to change weight in either direction showed depression and lower global self-esteem. Girls' decisions to gain or lose weight were influenced by psychological…

Study data indicate that secondary school students lacking the presence of both parents exhibit higher risk health behaviors than do students with both parents. Variables such as smoking behavior, blood pressure levels, and weight gain and loss were studied. (CJ)

Children's ratings were obtained, examining reciprocal feedback between perceptions of physical attractiveness and ability. Data supported the conclusion that perceptions of ability affect those of physical attractiveness but not vice versa. The role of the relative ambiguity of stimuli associated with physical attractiveness may explain the…