The Heart Adventures Challenge Course teaches students about the circulatory system's design and functions, taking them through a model of the circulatory system in the gym. The article provides detailed instructions for presenting the unit. It describes how the course was developed and taught in a middle school. (SM)

Data from the 1990 North Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey were used to examine adolescents' perceptions of relative weight and the relationship of these perceptions to physical activity levels, weight loss efforts, and television viewing time. About 25 percent (860) considered themselves too fat and reported little physical activity. (SM)

Contrasts body size and potential correlates of obesity in 1,481 African-American and 1,307 white 18- through 30-year-old women in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study (CARDIA). The increased prevalence of obesity in African-American women could not be explained by racial differences in age or education. (SLD)

Examines how African-American alternative masculine behaviors are expressed within same-sex peer groups and friendships. It is proposed that African-American males have adopted an alternative style of masculinity to cope with social and interpersonal pressures, even though it can sometimes be dysfunctional and associated with negative…

Presents a series of articles that address the theme of promoting active lifestyles through education. Some topics are facilities and equipment, how fear plays a part in limiting participation in physical activity, working with disabled as well as aging persons, the use of water activities, and instructor accountability. (GLR)

Eighty-five persons with developmental disabilities who had been placed into independent housing and competitive employment 15 years previously were evaluated. Two primary groups emerged: 19% in and 59% not in mental retardation/developmental disability services. The two groups were compared on social and support networks, lifestyle, quality of…

Explores the gap between what young conservatives espouse and the ways they actually lead their lives. Even in this time of cultural anarchy, the single most conservative cohort in the nation is married couples between the ages of 25 and 32 years who have children. (SLD)

An interview with a mother and daughter living in an intentional community in New Hampshire explores how their choices about lifestyle have shaped them, how homeschooling worked for them, the role of other community adults in raising children, why the daughter left and later returned, and how community is more than proximity to other people. (TD)

Reviews recent research on relationships between young maternal age and incidence of low-birth-weight infants. Different lines of research attribute low birth weight to biological and sociocultural factors. Both factors, plus lifestyle choices made by adolescents, combine to raise or lower the risk of delivering a low-birth-weight infant.…

Engaged low-income adolescents in community advocacy efforts to transform their schools and communities to reduce substance use. The intervention involved social cognitive constructs (sense of community, perceived self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, incentive value, policy control, and leadership competence). Though there were no changes in…

The values of the short-term future are implicit: an unholy Apollonian-Dionysian mix of rationalistic, legalistic, bureaucratic, scientific pragmatics, and a reactive, postmodern, relativistic, hedonistic, narcissistic, materialistic nihilism. For education, this might imply a skew toward the digital, the mathematical, the marketable, and the…

Quality physical education classes are an important avenue for teaching children about lifetime fitness participation. Specific fitness information and habits can be taught as part of physical education classes. Physical education, however, should not be the only source of physical activity for children. Children need opportunities to participate…

At the national level, obesity and obesity-related illnesses are increasing dramatically. As with many other public health problems, some racial and ethnic populations are disproportionately affected. This article presents current information on the prevalence and consequences of obesity for racial and ethnic groups in the United States and…

One aspect of family-centered positive behavior support (PBS) that has not received great attention to date involves the indirect benefits on the lives of family members who have children with challenging behavior. For instance, reductions in a child's problem behaviors could enhance the lifestyle status of parents and other family members.…

Purpose: Domain and sub-domain physical self-perceptions have been associated with adolescent moderate intensity physical activity although the association with different types of adolescent moderate intensity physical activity remains unclear. This study seeks to examine the relationship between personal self-perceptions and adolescent…