Background: Schools are ideal environments in which to conduct child and adolescent physical activity (PA) research. Despite this, PA-specific practical guidance for school-based research is lacking, which may present unique challenges to researchers. Based on reflections from our own experiences, this paper seeks to provide practical guidance on…

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the ways schools and other youth-serving agencies are operating. To prevent the continued spread of the virus, many schools and agencies have moved to virtual only or hybrid virtual/in-person activities. Along with adapting many other activities, schools and agencies' approaches to bullying…

Strong anti-bullying policies are foundational to effective bullying prevention. The Youth Bullying Prevention Act of 2012 (YBPA; DC Law L19-167) is among the most comprehensive bullying prevention policies across the United States and its territories. The law and its implementing regulations require all schools and youth-serving agencies…

Discusses a study of systematic observation instruments designed to assess characteristics of children's physical activity related to health. The article identifies 8 instruments designed for children from 20 months to sixth grade and examines the advantages of direct, naturalistic observation. Recommendations for improving the current…

Examines measures of children's perspectives on physical activity, focusing on the Children's Attitudes toward Physical Activity Scale and other measurement approaches. The article identifies current measurement issues and makes five recommendations for assisting in the development of useful research instruments. (SM)

Reviews several mechanical and electronic techniques for monitoring physical activity in children. The paper focuses on motion sensors (Large Scale Integrated Sensor and Caltrac Accelerometer) and heart rate, and it presents recommendations for establishing general guidelines for appropriate use of such monitoring devices with children. (SM)

Summarizes health-related physical fitness measurement procedures for children, emphasizing field measures. Health-related physical fitness encompasses cardiorespiratory endurance, body composition, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility. The article presents several issues pertinent to research on health-related fitness testing. (SM)

Reviews instruments used in conjunction with comprehensive programs to study children's dietary knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The instruments take about 20-45 minutes to complete and are easy for teachers or staff to administer and score, so respondent and staff burden are low compared to use of dietary methodologies. (SM)

Measures of preference are useful predictors of children's food consumption patterns. The paper discusses children's affective response to food and describes the preference assessment procedure which obtains information on children's likes and dislikes. The methodology helps investigate factors influencing development of preferences and food…

The current state of physical fitness in American youth is unknown. While evidence exists that obesity levels are increasing in children and youth, data on declines in physical fitness measures (i.e., cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal fitness) are lacking. Tracking of physical fitness components has been poorly done. Surveillance of behaviors…

The freshmen transition is a crucial time when students make health choices in their physical activities, eating behaviors, and stress management skills. A consortium of student affairs staff created and implemented an introduction to the wellness program through freshmen orientation classes. The program included a health behaviors assessment,…

This publication recognizes the importance of women's health, and more specifically, the role of culture, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic background, geographic location, and other social and economic factors in contributing to health status. After a section that highlights important issues, section 1, "Factors Affecting the Health of Women of…