The last quarter of the nineteenth century witnessed a new but rapidly spreading perspective on the link between education and nature: middle-class philanthropists joining together to provide summer vacations in the countryside for poor, sickly, urban children. Drawing on numerous examples of such work in Europe and the United States, this essay…

In this study we developed a theory grounded in data from women who continued healthy eating behaviors after a weight management program. Participant recruitment was guided by theoretical sampling strategies for focus groups and individual interviews. Inclusion criteria were: African American or Caucasian women aged 30+ who lost [greater than or…

This paper addresses three basic questions about an under-studied food subsidy program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP): (1) Does CACFP reach targeted low-income children? (2) How do eligible families and child care providers who participate differ from those who do not participate? (3) What is the association between attending…

Objective: To evaluate how a motivational interviewing (MI) training course for child healthcare nurses in Sweden affected their work with children's weight issues and their attitudes to MI. Design: Cross-sectional survey, descriptive design. Setting: Nurses were recruited from 33 different child healthcare centres in Ostergotland, Sweden. Method:…

Many family-based treatments for pediatric obesity teach specific parenting practices related to weight management. Although youth in these programs show increases in positive health behaviors and reductions in the extent to which they are overweight, most remain overweight after treatment. A recent trend is to create tailored programs for…

As young people transition through childhood to adolescence, they often face developmental challenges that can impede their quest to become flourishing, healthy adults. While both males and females experience difficulties, there are certain risk factors to which males are more susceptible. Compared with females, males tend to be more likely to…

The effectiveness of a media literacy program in preventing eating disorders among adolescents is studied. Media literacy can be effective in helping reduce shape and weight concern and other eating disorder risk factors in adolescents over the long term.

This brief report focusing on children' s kindergarten readiness i s the third in a series of reports describing data from the 2009 cohort of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES 2009). Previous FACES 2009 reports described the characteristics of children and their families and programs as they entered Head Start in fall 2009…

"Evaluation Science Briefs" summarize the findings and implications of a recent study evaluating the effects of an early childhood program or environment. This Brief evaluates the study "Early Intervention in Low Birthweight Premature Infants: Results at 18 Years of Age for the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP)" (M.C. McCormick, J.…

Health screenings conducted during Special Olympics competitions and games have consistently shown that a significant number of athletes with intellectual disabilities (IDs) were overweight or obese, and surveys have indicated that athletes need more fitness training than they receive from their sport practices. In 2002, Special Olympics initiated…

Given the recent rise in childhood obesity, the School Breakfast Program (SBP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP) have received renewed attention. Using panel data on more than 13,500 primary school students, we assess the relationship between SBP and NSLP participation and (relatively) long-run measures of child weight. After documenting a…

This study evaluates the efficacy of an early intervention program targeting African American mothers and their premature, low birth weight infants at 3 to 4 months' corrected age from four neonatal intensive care units, 173 families are recruited (84 intervention, 89 control). The 8-session, 20-week intervention consists of a psychoeducational…

Recent analyses differ on how effective the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is at improving infant health. We use data from nine states that participate in the Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance System to address limitations in previous work. With information on the mother's timing of WIC enrollment, we…

Rates of overweight in youth have reached epidemic proportions and are associated with adverse health outcomes. Family-based programs have been widely used to treat overweight in youth. However, few programs incorporate a theoretical framework for studying a family systems approach in relation to youth health behavior change. Therefore, this…

To curb the epidemic of obesity in the United States, revised Medicare policy allows support for efficacious obesity treatments. This review summarizes the evidence from rigorous randomized trials (9 lifestyle trials, 5 drug trials, and 2 surgical trials) on the efficacy and risk-benefit profile of lifestyle, drug, and surgical interventions aimed…