Obesity among children and teens continues to be a major public health concern in the United States. Approximately 16.9% of children and adolescents age 2-19 years are obese. To address this epidemic, schools have been encouraged to develop a coordinated school health program, which includes an interdisciplinary approach to nutrition education.…

This document is comprised of weekly newsletters, compiled by month, for family child care providers for the year 2003. Each theme-based four-page newsletter contains: (1) creative activities for use with mixed-age groups of 2- to 5-year-olds; (2) ideas on guiding behavior, organization tips, and Monthly Planning Calendar; (3) special sections for…

Although many recent studies have shown that the lack of physical activity is one of the major causes of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease among children and adolescents, few studies have shown the connection between the lack of physical education and the prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle. However, it is clear that physical education…

Commercialism in schools is the topic of this transcribed presentation. It addresses advertisements on school buses and educational websites; schools and districts exclusive agreements with bottling companies to sell only their products; corporate marketing to schools; corporate presence at educational conferences; corporate sponsorship of…

Tackling inactivity among young people of this country is more vital than ever. As a result, physical educators must generate increasing levels of respect within the education community for their role as competent professionals who guide children and adolescents toward physically active lifestyles. Fighting to destroy the image of those that…

America is in the midst of an obesity epidemic. Obesity rates among adults have increased by more than 60% in the last 10 years to where approximately 25% of American adults are obese today. According to Dr. Duane Alexander, Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH, 2003), the number of obese children is…

As the obesity epidemic in the United States spreads among children and teenagers, due in part to sedentary lifestyles, some physical education programs are using interactive video games to keep students engaged in physical activity. These innovative games make physical activity fun and challenging for both high- and low-skilled students. Although…

Background: A lack of physical activity (PA) and the occurrence of overweight and obesity among school-aged youth have become a major societal problem. Arising from the general concern about the future generations' health, schools have been found to be potentially important settings to promote positive health behaviour, since all pupils can be…

Recent evidence indicates that the near-epidemic growth rate of adult obesity in the United States has spread its pernicious tentacles to our youths. The overweight rate among school-age children in the United States tripled from about five percent to more than 15 percent between 1980 and 2002 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2002).…