Background: In South Carolina (SC), 42% of youth are overweight or obese. Two sets of modifiable behaviors contributing to obesity are physical activity (PA) and dietary habits. School-based interventions have successfully improved these behaviors. The purpose of this study was to identify SC public school personnel perspectives on the most common…

Background: School-based interventions and strategies targeting physical activity (PA) and eating patterns have successfully addressed unhealthy behaviors contributing to excess weight in school-age children. The purpose of this study was to investigate South Carolina (SC) public school administrators' perceptions of and experiences with…

Background: In this study, we examined moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) of children in a school district serving children from low-income and minority households. Methods: This observational study was conducted in 8 rural elementary schools in South Carolina. Children (N = 719, age = 7.7 years, 48.0% girls, 88.0% African American)…

Background: Associations between school participation in an academic medical center-supported school-based wellness initiative and programmatic components implemented with change in average student body mass index (BMI) over time were examined. Methods: This was an observational study of 103 K-12 South Carolina schools over school years 2014-2018,…

College students often experience and report feeling stressed within the context of their daily lives. This empirical study examines the effect of personal stress on academic performance in an introductory economics course at a representative regional university. 105 students were surveyed and completed a standardized psychometric instrument…

Background: The YMCA of USA has adopted Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (HEPA) Standards for its afterschool programs (ASPs). Little is known about strategies YMCA ASPs are implementing to achieve Standards and these strategies' effectiveness. Aims: (1) Identify strategies implemented in YMCA ASPs and (2) evaluate the relationship between…

The System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) is commonly used to measure variables related to physical activity during physical education (PE). However, SOFIT does not yield detailed information about teacher practices related to children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). This study describes the modification of SOFIT…

The use of faith-based organizations as sites to deliver diet and physical activity interventions is increasing. Methods to assess the messaging environment within churches are limited. Our research aimed to develop and test an objective assessment methodology to characterize health messages, particularly those related to diet and physical…

Background: Little is known about the influence of Montessori methods on children's physical activity (PA). This cross-sectional study compared PA of children attending Montessori and traditional preschools. Methods: We enrolled 301 children in 9 Montessori and 8 traditional preschools in Columbia, South Carolina. PA was measured by accelerometry…

Less than half of the adults in the United States meet national guidelines for physical activity. Physical activity programs can induce short-term improvements in physical activity. To develop effective interventions, researchers and practitioners should consider the timing, location, and social structure patterns of participants. Using a pretest,…

Background: Churches are an appealing setting for implementing health-related behavior change programs. Purpose: The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between perceived environmental church support for physical activity (PA) and PA behaviors. Method: Black church members from South Carolina ("n" = 309) wore an…

Sedentary behaviors contribute to the obesity epidemic in this country and physical educators can play an important role in the battle to improve the quality of life of our citizens. Motor skill competency is a substantive factor in a person's decision to be active or not, and a quality physical education program can tip the balance in favor of…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether or not students in fifth grade who meet the healthy fitness zone (HFZ) for aerobic capacity on the fall 2013 FITNESSGRAM® Test scored higher on the math portion of the 2013 fall Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test, than students that failed to reach the HFZ for aerobic capacity…

Objectives: Individuals may engage in more than one risk behaviour at any given time. The extent to which risk behaviours cluster among African American adults has been largely unexplored. This study examined the prevalence and clustering of three risk behaviours among African American church members: smoking; low moderate-to-vigorous intensity…

This study was designed to determine the number of days of pedometer monitoring necessary to achieve reliable and valid estimates of a 1-year average of step counts in adults based on either consecutive days (CD) or random days (RD) of data collection. Twenty-three participants (16 women; M age = 38 years, SD = 9.9) wore a Yamax SW 200 pedometer…