Background: Public schools provide opportunities for physical activity and fitness surveillance, but are evaluated and funded based on students' academic performance, not their physical fitness. Empirical research evaluating the connections between fitness and academic performance is needed to justify curriculum allocations to physical activity…

Background: Not much is known about the academic correlates of tobacco use among students in developing countries. This study investigated associations between multiple forms of tobacco use, psychosocial risk factors, and academic failure among 10- to 16-year-old government school students in Delhi and Chennai, India. Methods: This study was a…

Describes the development and testing of the School Functioning Index (SFI) for middle schools to use in predicting students' violent behavior. The final SFI included nine items and demonstrated good internal consistency and variability. It was modestly correlated in expected directions with violence and other health behavior. Results support the…

Describes the feasibility of the peer leader component of a school-based nutrition intervention for young adolescents designed to increase fruit and vegetable consumption and lower fat consumption. Results from a multicomponent process evaluation involving participant feedback, observation, and teacher ratings and interviews indicated that…

Surveyed middle school teachers regarding their classroom food and eating behaviors. Using food (particularly candy) as student incentives was common. Most foods used did not support development of healthy eating habits. Many teachers did not role model healthy eating at school. Prevalent use of vending machines was reported. Correlates of…

Examined smoking behaviors and predictors from fifth through eighth grades by ethnicity, gender, and geographic location. Overall, Hispanic and white adolescents had a similar 30-day smoking prevalence. Predictor variables were powerful across different geographic regions. There were no differences in predictor variables between blacks, whites,…

Describes Minnesota DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) PLUS, a randomized trial of 24 schools and communities. During 1999-2001, students in eight schools will receive the DARE curriculum in 7th grade. Eight other schools will receive the curriculum plus additional parent involvement, peer leadership, and community components in 7th and 8th…

This study examined the perceptions of 207 elected peer leaders in a seventh grade smoking prevention program and in a chemical abuse prevention program. Peer leaders' assessments of the adequacy of their training, the programs' components, the programs' influence on behavior and attitudes, and the programs' efficacy were analyzed. (Author/MT)

A nutrition education curriculum, which emphasized the importance of a low-salt, low-fat, and increased complex carbohydrate diet for cardiovascular health, was pilot tested on third and fourth graders. At posttest, participating students reported significant, positive eating pattern changes while students in the control group did not. (Author/MT)

This paper presents four arguments for a community-wide approach to drug abuse prevention. Community-based strategies, psychosocial behavior theory, community substructures, and stages of change are discussed. (Author/MT)

Describes objectives of the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health multisite intervention study which develops behavioral school health education plans. It targets third through fifth graders, stressing cardiovascular health behaviors (e.g., eating habits, physical activity, and smoking). Curricula, school environmental change, and…

Describes the "Unpuffables Program" in which two states tested receptivity to and feasibility of a smoking prevention activity package for fourth through sixth graders and parents. High awareness and participation rates were seen, and "Unpuffables" provided an opportunity to discuss smoking at home, motivating smokers to consider cessation, and…