The Fit Family Challenge, a web-based healthy lifestyle program, was developed to motivate families to participate in more physical activity by tracking their behaviors and by providing them with educational materials and community events to attend with their families. This article is an account of the steps taken and the efforts needed to make a…

College life is an exciting time for thousands of emerging adults on campuses across the nation. It is also an opportunity for students to engage in behaviors that can impede personal health. Numerous studies link personal health and wellness to academic achievement.1-3 The core mission of most institutions of higher education (IHEs) is academic…

The program described here shows how Extension can be a strong collaborative partner in a rural setting in improving the overall health of the community by organizing a three month "Biggest Loser" Weight Loss Challenge. A pre-and post-fitness assessment and bi-weekly weigh-ins were administered. Three healthy lifestyle educational…

A major goal for most quality physical education programs is to provide sufficient education and motivation for students to choose to live physically active lifestyles. This article clarifies what a "physically active lifestyle" really means both now to school-aged students, and in the future, as these students become adults.…

This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of the Cole County Community-Based Health Promotion Program, a cardiovascular risk reduction project which targeted Black adults. The program's goal was to enhance lifestyle behaviors in an effort to reduce risk factors and improve health status, utilizing community-based…

According to a survey by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, over 76% of parents concerned about the escalating childhood obesity rates and the rise of Type II diabetes, see daily physical activity as key to optima health and academic success. Physical education program should help students develop health-related fitness,…

In developing evaluative methods within the field of mental handicap services, evaluators should be more explicit about values they adopt and about lifestyles that services should be enabling people to achieve. An approach is described for evaluating the "All-Wales Strategy for the Development of Services for Mentally Handicapped…

Kidney dialysis patients often suffer emotional problems and face life adjustment problems. Adult basic education can be a useful tool to address these and to make positive use of idle time during dialysis. This article describes such a program, emphasizes the self-concept gain for students, and highlights the critical role of the understanding…

Rates of adolescent smoking appear to be on the increase, with a number of authors documenting increases in the 1990's. However, the issue of prevention rather than cessation has received greater attention in tobacco control programmes among youth. This review provides details of published school based and other tobacco cessation programmes for…

Organized afterschool programs have received increased attention over the past two decades because of changes in family demographics and in society's structures for supervising and socializing youth. The number of afterschool programs has been rapidly expanding to meet the increased need. However, not all youth in need are being reached, and the…

The article describes the model Structured Training and Employment Transitional Services (STETS) demonstration program for retarded young adults funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. Evaluation of STETS focused on five issues: participants' subsequent labor-market behavior, use of school and training programs, public-transfer dependence, life…

This paper describes a seminar for premedical students aimed at preventing their later disillusionment and distress as medical trainees by fostering realistic expectations and emotional exploration. The seminar consisted of discussions between premedical students and medical trainees/practitioners about stress and coping and included a physician…

During the 1995-96 school year, the Colorado Department of Education supported Comprehensive Health Education Programs as authorized by the Comprehensive Health Education Act of 1990. This report summarizes the projects funded under that grant along with additional observations and recommendations regarding the operation of such grants. Grant…

This compilation brings together various conference papers and a working group report on the topic of residential services for people with deaf-blindness and other profound disabilities. The title paper by Lyle T. Romer describes three measures for evaluating residential programs: capacity, progress, and lifestyle. Valued outcomes of a residential…

Inherent in the current school reform movement is an assumption that good schools are effective schools (Cuban, 1998). Effectiveness is usually defined narrowly in terms of academic achievement. Other purposes of schools related to social justice, developing student social skills, student health, or the personal development of students has not…