Ample evidence documents rising student obesity in summer months and falling student obesity during the school year. One theory for this pattern is that out-of-school days lack some of the structure and health-promoting behaviors that schools provide. Given this observed seasonal pattern, a natural question is whether there is room for policies…

To determine the effectiveness of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program--Education (SNAP-Ed) nutrition and physical activity programming in elementary schools, it is necessary to recruit socioeconomically similar comparison schools not receiving SNAP-Ed programming. We developed a flexible recruitment strategy to tailor our approach to each…

Background: Schools are important venues for providing and promoting physical activity, but little is known about how school websites are being used for these purposes. Completing a content analysis of existing school websites is essential to understanding their function and value relative to supporting physical education (PE) and physical…

This article examines four preadolescent girls' physical lives over three years inside and outside of schools (fourth, fifth, and sixth grades). The girls participated in a school-based physical education intervention during the first two years that was designed to enhance their physical activity (PA) choices in both environments. At the…

Numerous interventions have been identified as evidence-based practices for educating students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Physical activity (PA) has recently been recognized as an evidence-based practice to decrease maladaptive behaviors and increase desired behaviors. Exercise has been found to increase academic engagement in students…

Insufficient physical activity during the elementary school years has been associated with a number of health problems (Strong et al., 2006). During the school day, the recess period provides the greatest opportunity for children to engage in physical activity (Robert Wood Johnson, 2007). Nonetheless, most children spend the majority of their…

Physical activity is linked with health and academic benefits. While recess provides the greatest opportunity for children to accumulate physical activity, most children are not motivated to engage in sufficient amounts of physical activity during recess. Research demonstrates a strong relationship between self-efficacy and children's motivation…

Measuring program outcomes is required for documenting effectiveness of interventions with youths participating in programs funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) initiative. The California CYFAR program provided programming for youths aged 5-8, which necessitated the development of an…

Background: Many elementary schools have policies requiring a minimum amount of physical education (PE). However, few schools comply with local/state PE policy and little is known about how to improve adherence. We evaluated changes in PE among fifth-grade classes, following participatory action research efforts to improve PE quantity and policy…

Background: Less than half of elementary children meet the physical activity recommendations of 30 to 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on a daily basis. Recess provides the single biggest opportunity for children to accumulate MVPA. This study explored whether a teacher's social prompting to be active during recess alone…

This document provides resources for increasing physical activity and physical education in schools. It also offers case studies that examine two successful initiatives, one led by an elementary school principal in Washington, D.C., and the other by school leaders in Naperville, Illinois.

Background: African-American and Latino children living in neighborhoods with a low-socioeconomic index are more at risk of obesity-associated metabolic disease than their higher socioeconomic index and/or white peers. Currently, consistent and reliable questionnaires to evaluate nutrition and physical activity knowledge in these children are…

Objective: Examine the effect of the "California Children's Power Play! Campaign's School Idea & Resource Kits" for fourth/fifth grades on the psychosocial determinants of fruit and vegetable (FV) intake and physical activity (PA). Methods: Randomized, controlled trial (n = 31 low-resource public schools; 1,154 children). Ten…