Interest in the relationship between health behaviours and academic achievement has recently intensified in the face of an epidemic of childhood and adolescent obesity and converging school reforms in the United States and other nations with advanced economies. Epidemiologic research has demonstrated that poor diet and lack of adequate physical…

A total of 249 Japanese nationals--tourists (n = 107), students (n = 98), and temporary workers (n = 44)--were recruited at the targeted community venues in Honolulu, Hawaii, and completed a structured survey questionnaire. Reported lifetime sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs infection (10% male and 20% female participants), and HIV infection…

Background: Little is known about the characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) who misuse substances and how such problems impinge upon their well-being. The aim of this paper is to describe how alcohol and drugs affect the health of people with IDs. Methods: A questionnaire was forwarded to all the community ID teams and…

This study explored the relationships among weight perceptions, dieting behavior, and breakfast eating in 4597 public high school adolescents using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Adjusted multiple logistic regression models were constructed separately for race and gender groups via SUDAAN (Survey Data…

This study examined the links between childhood obesity, activity participation and television and video game use in a nationally representative sample of children (N=2831) ages 1-12 using age-normed body mass index (BMI) ratings. Results indicated that while television use was not related to children's weight status, video game use was. Children…

Objective: This study examines the relation between cognitive-motivational variables and self-reported health behaviours among adolescents. Design: Cross-sectional survey of adolescents via questionnaires delivered in classrooms. Setting: One large junior high school and two senior high schools located in the Memphis area. Method: Data from 257…

The purpose of this study was to assess physical activity levels and the relationships between activity and personal characteristics among a cohort of college students and to determine personal characteristics that predict activity. A sample of 1,700 undergraduates was mailed a survey that requested demographic information and assessed health…

HIV-related behaviors, self-reported using Web-delivered or paper-pencil modes, were collected from two convenience samples of college students at a major university in the southeastern U.S. To enhance the equivalence of the comparisons, a subset pool of participants from each group, proportionally matched on key demographic variables including…

This study, using Andersen's health care utilization model, examined how predisposing characteristics, enabling resources, need, personal health practices, and psychological factors influence health care utilization using a nationally representative, longitudinal sample of Canadian adolescents. Second, this study examined whether this process…

Valid measurement of physical activity is important for studying the risks for morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to examine evidence of construct validity of two similar single-response items assessing physical activity via self-report. Both items are based on the stages of change model. The sample was 687 participants (men =…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current situations of condom using behavior and its related factors among college students in Taiwan. There were two phases in the study. In phase I, 50 students from one college in the eastern, southern, middle and northern parts of Taiwan were selected to form a focus group, and were interviewed…

Although both low socioeconomic status and cigarette smoking increase health problems and mortality, their possible combined or interactive influence is less clear. On one hand, the health of low status groups may be harmed least by unhealthy behavior such as smoking because, given the substantial health risks produced by limited resources, they…

Little is known about Hispanic teens' sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviors and their relationship to media influences. Information about this relationship could contribute to an understanding of the early onset of sexual behavior and early teen pregnancy. This paper reports preliminary findings from a pilot project conducted to determine…

The purpose of this study was to test a conceptual model based on theoretical and empirically supported relationships related to the influences of weight perceptions, weight concerns, desires to change weight, friends, age and location in relation to physical activity (PA) and smoking in adolescents. A total of 1242 males and 1446 females (mean…

Objective: The authors examined the clustering of health-risk behaviors among college students who reported date fight involvement. Participants and Methods: The authors administered a Web-based survey to a stratified random sample of 3,920 college students from 10 universities in North Carolina. Results: Among men, 5.6% reported date fight…