New approaches are needed when working in rural communities to identify and communicate holistic evaluation impacts related to community-based health promotion efforts of Cooperative Extension. Specifically, there is a lack of recorded long-term programmatic impacts of these programs, including behavior changes related to consuming nutritious and…

Background: Sufficient physical activity (PA) is important to reduce the risk of men developing chronic diseases and to improve mental health. The effectiveness of PA programmes can vary, however, among men. Individual and socio-psychological characteristics may affect the level of men's PA before starting a behaviour change programme as well as…

Background: There is little understanding of men's weight loss outcomes and behaviors in self-directed contexts, such as digital commercial mobile weight management programs. This is an especially pressing question given that men often express disinterest in weight management programs and it is unknown how that manifests in self-directed…

Many states and communities are in chronic fiscal crisis. It is no surprise that beleaguered educators are ever more open to offers of corporate "partnerships" that might bring in additional money for their schools. Unfortunately, many school-business partnerships are little more than marketing arrangements that have few benefits for…

Purpose: There is a growing need for school-based nutritional educational programs that promote healthy eating attitudes without increasing an unhealthy focus on restrictive eating or promoting a poor body image. Research suggests that "intuitive eating" ("IE") approaches, which encourage individuals to focus on internal body…

Objective: Obesity and its comorbidities have emerged as a leading public health concern. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and sleep patterns, including duration and disturbances. Methods: A convenience sample of 515 college students completed an online survey consisting of the Pittsburgh Sleep…

Elementary schools are an optimal setting to provide obesity prevention interventions, yet little is known about the obesity prevention practices of elementary school nurses. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into current obesity-related school nursing practice in elementary schools in Minnesota, opinions regarding school nurse-led…

Objective: To examine the influence of personal and environmental factors on healthful weight management behaviors mediated through self-efficacy among low-income obese mothers. Design: Cross-sectional design. Setting: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children in Wisconsin. Participants: Two hundred eighty-four obese…

Diet-related chronic diseases are highly prevalent among indigenous populations in the Canadian Arctic. A community-based, multi-institutional nutritional and lifestyle intervention--Healthy Foods North--was implemented to improve food-related psychosocial factors and behaviors among Inuit and Inuvialuit in four intervention communities (with two…

There is growing evidence that experiential avoidance and psychological inflexibility plays a role in a variety of clinical presentations, including health problems. The present study presents preliminary data on a new measure of these processes in relation to difficult weight-related thoughts, feelings, and actions: The Acceptance and Action…

Objective: To evaluate a modified curriculum for the 6-session Texas Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) promoting healthful home food environments and parenting skills related to obesity prevention. Design: Two-group randomized control trial; intervention versus usual EFNEP curriculum. Setting: Texas EFNEP classes. Participants:…

The purpose of this investigation was to examine overweight students' perceptions of and experiences in physical education. Specifically, the applicability of learned helplessness as a framework to understand their experiences was explored. Participants were seven female and five male high school students whose body mass index was at or higher…

This study investigated whether clothing can be perceived as a form of encouragement for success in a weight management exercise program. A small (n = 30) sample of children and parents, enrolled in a weight-management exercise program, responded to a survey instrument that included questions regarding fit and comfort of the clothing children wore…

This paper focuses on the tangled web of obesity and exercise as it relates to subjective well-being. Many overweight individuals have low levels of subjective well-being as a reflection of "anti-fat" biases and sociocultural considerations. Since exercise helps balance the energy intake-output equation and is associated with mood benefits,…

Obesity among children and adolescents is a major public health concern affecting the physical and emotional health of youth while increasing their risk of reduced quality and duration of life. Schools and communities have begun to galvanize to address this epidemic and need quality empirical information to guide their policy, programming, and…