School Nutrition and Activity. Impacts on Well-Being

Description

Childhood obesity is a major public health crisis nationally and internationally. This insightful compendium provides valuable information and assesses the research foundations behind several school initiatives to help combat the epidemic of obesity in children and adolescents, particularly using interventions to increase physical activity. The book looks at the issue from three levels: first, the effects of unhealthy eating and lack of exercise on a number of health outcomes in children and adolescents; second, successful small- and large-scale school-based interventions; and finally, synthesis of current literature and translation into specific guidelines and recommendations.

Specific topics addressed in the book include:

• The appeal and benefits of outdoor versus indoor activity
• Cultural differences in physical activity
• Successful interventions and their continued success, or lack of, after several years
• The roles of family and community interventions
• Staff involvement in children’s physical activities
• Specific programs, such as Plant Health, an antismoking intervention with unintended obesity intervention
• Establishing healthy habits in youth

This research provides schools with a strong foundation for implementing policies and practices that support healthy eating and regular physical activity. In the process, educators will be ensuring the best possible chance for increasing students’ academic success, improving both physical and mental health, and decreasing the risk for myriad chronic diseases.

Features

• Provides valuable information and assesses the research foundations behind several school initiatives to help combat the epidemic of obesity in children and adolescents
• Addresses obesity in children and adolescents from the unique perspective of using interventions to increase physical activity
• Includes information on topics such as the appeal and benefits of outdoor versus indoor activity, cultural differences in physical activity, and others

Table of Contents

Part I: Overview and Rationale

• Childhood Obesity: A Global Public Health Crisis; Sameera Karnik and Amar Kanekar
• Reading, Writing, and Obesity: America’s Failing Grade in School Nutrition and Physical Education; Jason Schaub and Mary Marian

Part II: Examples of School-Based Programs and Their Effectiveness

• Effectiveness of a School-Community Linked Program on Physical Activity Levels and Health-Related Quality of Life for Adolescent Girls; Meghan M. Casey, Jack T. Harvey, Amanda Telford, Rochelle M. Eime, Amanda Mooney, and Warren R. Payne
• A Repeated Measures Experiment of Green Exercise to Improve Self-Esteem in UK School Children; Katharine Reed, Carly Wood, Jo Barton, Jules N. Pretty, Daniel Cohen, and Gavin R. H. Sandercock
• Long-Term Effect of a School-Based Physical Activity Program (KISS) on Fitness and Adiposity in Children: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial; Ursina Meyer, Christian Schindler, Lukas Zahner, Dominique Ernst, Helge Hebestreit, Willem van Mechelen,
• Hans-Peter Brunner-La Rocca, Nicole Probst-Hensch, Jardena J. Puder, and Susi Kriemler
• School Programs and Characteristics and Their Influence on Student BMI: Findings from Healthy Passages; Tracy K. Richmond, Marc N. Elliott, Luisa Franzini, Ichiro Kawachi, Margaret O. Caughy, M. Janice Gilliland, Courtney E. Walls, Frank A. Franklin, Richard Lowry, Stephen W. Banspach, and Mark A. Schuster
• Moderating Influences of Baseline Activity Levels in School Physical Activity Programming for Children: The Ready for Recess Project; Pedro F. Saint-Maurice, Gregory J. Welk, Daniel W. Russell, and Jennifer Huberty
• School-based Programs: Lessons Learned from CATCH, Planet Health, and Not-On-Tobacco; Adele L Franks, Steven H Kelder, Geri A Dino, Kimberly A Horn, Steven L Gortmaker, Jean L Wiecha, and Eduardo J Simoes
• Associations Between Eating Frequency, Adiposity, Diet, and Activity in 9–10-Year-Old Healthy-Weight and Centrally Obese Children; Amy Jennings, Aedín Cassidy, Esther M.F. van Sluijs, Simon J. Griffin and Ailsa A. Welch

Part III: Recommendations for the Future

• Systematic Review of the Health Benefits of Physical Activity and Fitness in School-Aged Children and Youth; Ian Janssen and Allana G. LeBlanc
• Rethinking the Role That School Meals Play for Health and Nutrition Education: A European Perspective; Bent Egberg Mikkelsen
• From "Best Practice" To "Next Practice": The Effectiveness of School-Based Health Promotion in Improving Healthy Eating and Physical Activity and Preventing Childhood Obesity; Christina Fung, Stefan Kuhle, Connie Lu, Megan Purcell, Marg Schwartz, Kate Storey, and Paul J Veugelers
• School Health Guidelines to Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity: Recommendations and Reports
• Division of Adolescent and School Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Index

Author(s) Bio

Areej Hassan MD, MPH, is an instructor in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School as well as an attending physician at Boston Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She completed her pediatric residency at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, prior to training in adolescent medicine at Boston Children’s. In addition to primary care, Dr. Hassan focuses her clinical interests on reproductive endocrinology and international health. She also maintains an active role in medical education and has particular interest in building and developing innovative teaching tools through open educational resources. She currently teaches, consults, and is involved in pediatric and adolescent curricula development at multiple sites abroad in Central America and Southeast Asia.