Preschools and other early childhood education and care settings are influential in the promotion of physical activity (PA) for young children. This study utilized the Yamax Digiwalker pedometer within a quasi-experimental design to quantitatively explore the influence of nature preschools on the PA of 154 preschool-aged children. Results suggest…

Hispanic/Latina students face difficulties engaging in physical activity, but schools can help by integrating activity into accrue the school day and offering sport and activity-based extracurriculars. In this study, we examined physical activity (PA) and school-related factors among adolescent Hispanic/Latina students. Participants (N = 5,539)…

Objective: We evaluated the feasibility of a 10-week program combining a smartphone application and theoretically-based, social media-delivered health education intervention to improve college students' health behaviors and outcomes. Participants: Forty-four college students (32 female; [x-bar][subscript age]=21.6 years) in 2015-2016. Methods:…

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic affected health and well-being worldwide, but little is known about how the pandemic specifically impacted families with young children. Evidence suggests a relationship between well-being and health behaviors (diet, physical activity) and that preexisting health disparities were exacerbated during the pandemic.…

Few studies have explored the moderating effects of race on children's physical activity (PA) and psychosocial beliefs, particularly in physical education (PE) setting. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether children's PA behaviors and PA-related psychosocial beliefs differed as a function of race, as well as to explore any racial…

Background: Despite the known benefits of physical activity, the prevalence of physical inactivity and sedentary behavior are significant issues in public health. Young adults, such as college students, are a population at risk for decreased physical activity participation due to the newfound responsibility of balancing school, work, and personal…

Train-the-Trainer (TTT) methodology uses an expert to train a non-expert on how to implement an intervention and is often used by Cooperative Extension personnel for delivery of programs in the natural setting. In these interventions using multiple educators and/or non-experts, a measure of implementation (fidelity of implementation) is necessary…

Background: Long-term evaluation studies reveal that high-quality early care and education (ECE) programs that include a lifestyle component predict later adult health outcomes. The purpose of this article is to characterize the nutrition and physical activity (PA) practices, including implementation difficulty and barriers, of licensed center-…

Background: Behavioral interventions to prevent pediatric obesity have shown inconsistent results across the field. Studying what happens within the "black box" of these interventions and how differences in implementation lead to different outcomes will help researchers develop more effective interventions. Aim: To compare the…

Physical educators have been identified as ideal school champions to lead comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) efforts within their schools. As such, they should be adequately prepared to take on this role. Faculty from three physical and health education teacher education programs have collaboratively developed the…

Background: This study examines school strategies to educate parents over time about physical activity and nutrition and how those strategies are related to adolescent health behaviors. Methods: Data from the Minnesota School Health Profiles Lead Health Education Teacher survey (2008-2012) and the Minnesota Student Survey (MSS, 2013) included…

The objective of this study was to describe the relationship between stress, weight-related health risk behaviors (e.g., eating behaviors, physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep, cigarette smoking, and binge drinking), and weight status using cross-sectional data on 2-year community college students enrolled in a randomized controlled weight…

Weight-related outcomes were examined among high school students in Minnesota public school districts according to the quality of district wellness policies. Wellness policy strength and comprehensiveness were scored using the Wellness School Assessment Tool (WellSAT) for 325 Minnesota public school districts in 2013. The associations between…

The rate of childhood obesity in the United States is approximately 17%. Because physical education can be a key intervention strategy against this epidemic, this study was conducted to determine physical educators' perceptions on their use of recommended national standards specifically focused on physical fitness and activity in their classroom.…

Given the importance of including daily physical activity as a part of a healthy lifestyle, Extension educators should do as much as they can to incorporate physical activity into their educational programming. A University of Minnesota Extension team has created a set of activities that incorporate motion to reinforce nutrition concepts, which…