Spend Smart Eat Smart (SSES), a unique website combining nutrition and food buying education for limited resource audiences (LRAs), was revised using social marketing theory to make it more appealing and relevant to LRAs (25-40 years). Focus groups and surveys identified the needs and preferences of LRAs. Needs were cooking, basic health, and…

There are few in-depth studies of Thai college student health and mental health behaviors that focus on the cultural influences that shape such behaviors. Thus, the purposes of this study are: (1) to conduct the needs assessment survey on health and mental health issues at a public university in Thailand in order to better understand the issues…

Objective: To review the literature, identifying proposed recommendations for school-based nutrition interventions, and evaluate kindergarten through 12th grade school-based nutrition interventions conducted from 2000-2008. Design: Proposed recommendations from school-based intervention reviews were developed and used in conducting a content…

Background: To support curriculum and policy, a midwest city school district assessed the association of selected categories of nutrition and physical activity (NUTR/PA) behaviors, fitness measures, and body mass index (BMI) with academic performance (AP) for 800 sixth graders. Methods: Students completed an adapted Youth Risk Behavior…

Problem: Priority health-risk behaviors contribute to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among youth and adults. Population-based data on these behaviors at the national, state, and local levels can help monitor the effectiveness of public health interventions designed to protect and promote the health of youth nationwide. Reporting…

Objective: Research has shown that college students have elevated rates of alcohol use and problematic eating behaviors. The current study focused on the relationships between dieting behaviors and alcohol use among a sample of undergraduates attending National Eating Disorder Screening Program. Method: All participants (n=70, 100% female, average…

Despite recent attention to health promotion and illness prevention, young people continue to engage in a variety of risk behaviors, which may negatively influence current and future health status. The purpose of this study was to create a comprehensive profile of health risk behaviors among undergraduate students at the University of Prince…

Peer education for HIV prevention has been widely implemented in developing countries, yet the effectiveness of this intervention has not been systematically evaluated. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of peer education interventions in developing countries published between January 1990 and November 2006. Standardized methods of…

Objective: The authors investigated the longitudinal impact of peer health education on the health behaviors of undergraduate students pertaining to alcohol and drug use, eating and nutrition, and sexual health. Participants: From fall 2003 to spring 2006, the authors annually administered a Web-based survey to a cohort of 2,000 randomly selected…

Obesity is a growing health and socioeconomic issue in the United States. College students are an important part of the alarming statistics involving weight gain. This study investigated how nutrition behaviors and physical activity modified students' perceptions of body weight and nutrition knowledge. Furthermore, the study assessed gender and…

Objective: To explore cultural perceptions of the MyPyramid key messages and identify factors that may impact adoption of these recommendations. Methods: Systematic content analysis of transcripts from in-depth, structured interviews with 23 adults, primarily African American females, residing in the Lower Mississippi Delta. Results: When asked to…

The detrimental effects of physical inactivity within children have enormous personal health consequences. These health conditions have the potential to impact the economic vitality of society as a whole. Studies have indicated that inactive children are far more likely to suffer from obesity, type II diabetes, and hypertension than their…

In web-based health promotion programs, large variations in participant engagement are common. The aim was to investigate determinants of high use of a worksite self-help web-based program for stress management. Two versions of the program were offered to randomly selected departments in IT and media companies. A static version of the program…

Reliability and validity of intervention studies are impossible without adequate program fidelity, as it ensures that the intervention was implemented as designed and allows for accurate conclusions about effectiveness (Bellg AJ, Borrelli B, Resnick B "et al." Enhancing treatment fidelity in health behavior change studies: best practices…

Objective: We used ecological momentary assessment to understand the physical activity and sedentary behaviour patterns of university students. Study design: Cross sectional, opportunistic sample from a university in the English midlands. Methods: Ecological momentary assessment diaries were completed every 15 minutes across two days. The sample…