This report used information from two United Kingdom national cohorts to estimate the magnitude of the effects of learning on depression and obesity. Members of the two cohorts were surveyed in 1999-00, when those in the 1970 cohort were age 33 years and those in the 1958 cohort were age 42 years. Overall, education was an important risk factor…

Discusses the health problems of diabetes and obesity which are prevalent among the American Indians of Wisconsin, and describes a training program of paraprofessional health educators designed to help alleviate these problems in the Indian community. (JR)

Assigned children (N=114) from stratified blocks of percentage overweight to a comprehensive behavioral program or to a no-treatment condition. The average child in treatment declined to percentage overweight 5.71%; children in the control group gained 2.41%. Parental participation was correlated with weight change among children in the treatment…

Compared behavioral counseling with nutrition education. Initial weight losses were similar. Behavioral participants consumed fewer calories but often used diets that were nutritionally unsound. Behavioral treatment appears best for moderate obesity, but procedures are needed for nutrition education, promoting fitness, and teaching independent…

Investigated whether stigmatization of obese persons has affected rehabilitation counseling students' perceptions of such clients. Results suggest that rehabilitation students perceive obese clients more negatively. If a counselor's first impression of an obese client is that he is less competent and less attractive, rehabilitation outcome could…

A comprehensive health education program stressing the development of sound health habits should be offered to all students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Such programs could help to prevent the development of cardiovascular disease by educating students of current practices that add to the risk of disease. (CJ)

The obese face severe discriminatory reactions, leading to low rates of prosocial intervention and devaluation of ability and potential. It is no surprise that the obese adopt negative self-images. Further research should explore how body build influences hiring, job advancement, salary, jury deliberations, and college admissions. (Author)

The overweight college student is faced not only with the normal anxieties of adolescence but also with the special stress of surviving in a new environment. The nurse practitioner can guide students to bear responsibility for good health and provide a sound nutritional framework for a weight loss program. (CJ)

Among obese females following a behavioral weight loss program, a measure of perceived personal control significantly predicted outcome. Internals achieved greater mean weight loss. The internal control orientation was associated with higher extraversion and self-acceptance, but neither of these other variables correlated with weight loss. (Author)

Examined the relationship between weight cycling and psychological health in 120 obese women. Weight cycling was defined in two ways by retrospective self-report: total lifetime weight loss and total number of weight cycles greater than or equal to 20 pounds. Psychological self-report measures assessed psychiatric symptoms, eating behavior, mood,…

Used vignettes to investigate children's integration of information on behavior, body weight, and sex when forming peer impressions. Found that positively behaving peers were liked more and attributed more positive traits than negatively behaving peers. Also found that boys, but not girls, believed that peers would evaluate average weight,…

Provides a rationale for the significance of the study of early feeding and delineates major issues that require investigation. Includes a list of acquisition processes implicated in the development of food acceptance patterns. (RH)

Studied weight gain after smoking cessation in a naturalistic setting where all smokers quit and risk factors for postcessation weight gain were modified. Results showed no significant weight changes for smokers who quit. Suggests that an intensive program featuring dietary guidelines and increased physical activity can attenuate weight gain. (RJM)

Examines whether physical fitness levels in U.S. children and youth have changed over time. Research indicates that weight and skinfolds have increased over 50 years and distance run times have worsened over 10 years. The article includes information on relationships between cardiovascular fitness and coronary heart disease risks in children. (SM)

A system of scoring food intake that can be used to encourage students to make more intelligent decisions regarding their diets is presented. A sampling of points assigned to a variety of foods, a copy of a typical student diet record, and an example on how to calculate scores are included. (KR)