This paper presents a novel approach to teaching how vaccines work in the body, and introduces a community outreach project and activity we piloted with youth. Our Nuestra Ciencia program addresses scientific misconceptions among bilingual elementary school children in engaging and scientifically accurate ways. Utilizing analogies and…

Health promotion programs for school staff are an overlooked and under-utilized resource that can lead to reductions in overweight and obesity among teachers and other staff members if implemented properly. In addition to increasing the overall staff wellness, boosting morale, increasing productivity, improving academic achievement, providing…

Quality Physical Education (PE) school programs are imperative for the development of students' healthy lifestyles. While many factors impact the quality of PE programs, the effectiveness of the teacher plays an important part in the organization and advancement of a quality PE program. One way PE teachers can improve their effectiveness is by…

Recent estimates suggest that youth spend approximately 80-93% of their working hours in a sedentary state, such as sitting or resting longer than usual (Institute of Medicine, 2013). Schools are conducive of this sedentary behavior and because of that, they have been identified as viable locations for children to be physically active. In order…

In efforts to respond to key government public health initiatives for settings-based health promotion, the "Workplace Health Champion" role has emerged as a method of promoting health within the UK healthcare setting. Health promotion techniques used by these individuals are based on psychological theories that are known to motivate…

Unhealthy coping mechanisms become more widely available to young people during their teenage years. Students frequently choose these unhealthy activities as avenues for dealing with the stress of physical and social changes that confront them during adolescence. For these reasons, a need exists for intervention programs that teach adolescents to…

News reports calling attention to the steady increase in the number of overweight adults have become an accepted part of our media landscape. Worse still, warnings continue that more and more young children, like the adults who care for them, are carrying too much weight. Unfortunately, this bad news about our growing obesity problem isn't just…

Discusses how mentoring in health promotion differs from other key support roles, noting what the underlying rationale is behind mentoring, how a mentoring program should be designed, what the historical and theoretical roots of mentoring are, and what strategies mentors can use to be more effective. A research agenda for the mentoring approach is…

In physical education, bodies are not only moved but made. There are perceived expectations for bodies in physical education to be "healthy bodies"--for teachers to be "appropriate" physical, fit, healthy and skillful "role models" and for students to display a slim body that is equated with fitness and health. In…