Background: Public health concerns regarding childhood obesity and sedentary behavior make investigations of children's physical activity (PA) promotion crucial. School recess, a highly discretional time, plays a central role in shaping children's activity preferences. Methods: Participants included 40 children (30 girls, 10 boys) from fourth and…

Recommendations for the prevention of childhood obesity encourage providers to counsel parents and their children on healthy diet and activity behaviors. This study evaluated the feasibility of a theory-based, tailored communication intervention for obesity prevention ("Team Up for Health") delivered during a well-child visit. A…

Within the Canadian context, the physical activity levels of children and youth in the after school time period has become a source of public health concern. We argue that this concern is informed by broader public health crises, in particular the "global obesity epidemic" and the closely related "global pandemic of physical…

International concern about "alarming" levels of childhood obesity has seen a proliferation of interventions filtering into school physical education programmes that are designed to influence children's health practices and attitudes. This article addresses one such obesity-prevention intervention, the Global Children's Challenge™, a…

Obesity is a major public health problem affecting all ages in both developed and developing countries. It is considered the fifth leading risk factor for deaths all over the world as about 2.8 million people die due to obesity each year directly or indirectly. Obesity in elderly is considered one of the most serious public health challenges for…

Background: Schools are an important setting for improving behaviors associated with obesity, including physical activity. However, within schools there is often a tension between spending time on activities promoting academic achievement and those promoting physical activity. Methods: A community-based intervention provided administrators and…

Background: Approximately 31.7% of children in the United States are overweight or obese. Interventions in the afterschool setting may help combat childhood obesity. Research exists on interventions in school settings, but a few data exist for interventions about afterschool programs. This study investigates increasing physical activity (PA) in…

Current concerns about a childhood obesity crisis and children's physical activity levels have combined to justify fitness lessons as a physical education practice in New Zealand primary (elementary) schools. Researchers focused on children's understandings of fitness lessons argue that they construct fitness as a quest for an "ideal"…

Objective: In the USA there are rising rates of obesity among children, at least in part due to unhealthy eating and physical inactivity. Implementing school-based health interventions with elementary school children focused on youth empowerment could lead to improved health environments and behaviours. The purpose of the present study was to…

Childhood obesity is a major public health challenge today, with complex roots interwoven into nearly every facet of American life. This poll addresses one narrow slice of this web: the challenges that families face during the "crunch time" of the work and school week, between 3 pm and the time children go to bed. Compared to the school day, this…

Objective: A recent economic approach suggests that people do not account for the long-term implications of unhealthy behaviours, preventing them from performing a fully rational trade-off between current benefits and future costs, leading to negative health outcomes. We examined whether the current allocation of time to physical activity among…

Background: Head Start (HS) staff are ideally positioned to promote healthy behaviors to over one million low-income children each year, however little is understood about their own health. Purpose: To conduct a needs assessment with HS staff to: 1) understand perceptions, barriers and motivators to healthful behaviors; and 2) ascertain interest…

Physical activity's role in promoting health is highlighted in public health campaigns, news and current affairs, reality television and other programs. An investigation of audience exposure, beliefs and reactions to media portrayals of physical activity offers insights into the salience and influence of this communication. An audience reception…

While grappling with their traditional core business of imbuing students with official curricular knowledge, schools have simultaneously, increasing demands to take on health promotion responsibilities. This paper examines the mandated implementation of the Eat Well Be Active (EWBA) Action Plan and its subsidiary "Smart" policies in…

A comprehensive understanding of the barriers inhibiting physical activity among children is critical in the fight against childhood obesity. This qualitative interview study examined parents' and children's perceptions of the barriers to physical activity in rural communities of low socioeconomic status. Parents and children concurred that the…