Childhood obesity is one of the most serious challenges of the 21st century and it is vital that evidence-based treatment approaches can be translated into practice to meet public health needs. Yet policy-makers cannot afford to wait for the results of lengthy trials before "probably efficacious" interventions are made available to the public, and…

The idea of having a "Compare" Forum focusing on the above title was first discussed with one of the Editors of "Compare" during a PhD defence in Oslo in 2011. The PhD dissertation itself was linked to a larger project in which researchers from the North (Norway) and the South (South Africa) had been collaborating in…

Physical inactivity is a key determinant of health across the lifespan. A lack of activity increases the risk of heart disease, colon and breast cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression and others diseases. Emerging literature has suggested that in terms of mortality, the global population health burden of…

Many states and communities are in chronic fiscal crisis. It is no surprise that beleaguered educators are ever more open to offers of corporate "partnerships" that might bring in additional money for their schools. Unfortunately, many school-business partnerships are little more than marketing arrangements that have few benefits for…

In both developed and developing countries, population aging has attained unprecedented levels. Public health strategies to deliver services in community-based settings are key to enhancing the utilization of preventive care and reducing costs for this segment of the population. Motivated by concerns of inadequate access to oral health care by…

Our objective was to assess how exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke occurs in Hungarian homes, particularly among non-smokers, and to examine the effectiveness of home smoking bans in eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke at home. In 2009, 2286 non-smokers and smokers aged 16-70 years, who were selected randomly from a nationally…

When patients need information, they may visit a doctor, ask a nurse, or look online. But these are not the only sources of information used by patients. This paper examines discussion threads in online renal support groups to describe how people living with kidney failure conceive of help, information and support. I use Actor Network Theory to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to underpin a scoping study commissioned by community leaders to assess the potential for creating a "health café" in the centre of Boston, in eastern England, UK, to facilitate healthier lifestyles. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed methods and framework analytic approach was adopted, using…

Childhood obesity and the early development of type 2 diabetes (T2 DM) place students at risk for chronic health problems. The school nurse is uniquely situated to promote school health initiatives that influence health behavior. The purpose of this review was to determine effective nonpharmacological interventions for prevention of T2 DM in…

Purpose: Since Sallis and McKenzie's seminal article in 1991 outlining physical education's role in public health, increased attention has been given to promoting youth physical activity in schools. The present study systematically reviewed the literature from 1991 to 2013 to identify recommendations for the preparation of physical…

Evidence strongly supports a positive, causal effect of physical activity on bone strength and suggests long-term benefits of childhood physical activity to the prevention of osteoporosis. The contribution of healthy bone development in youth is likely to be as important to fracture prevention as the amount of late adulthood bone loss. Families,…

The worldwide rise in obesity makes this the first non-infectious epidemic in human history. The rapid increase is, in fact, influenced more by environment than biology. In an effort to halt the trend, Quebec has launched a major awareness-raising campaign that focuses on healthy environments and targets stakeholders in schools, municipalities,…

Background: School-located vaccination (SLV) offers an opportunity to deliver vaccines to students, particularly those without a primary care provider. Methods: This SLV program offered 2 clinics at each of 20 elementary schools (influenza vaccine) and 3 clinics at each of 7 middle/preschool-eighth-grade schools (adolescent platform plus catch-up…

This study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of an instrument designed to measure student perceptions of curricular goals in physical education, the Curricular Goals in Physical Education Questionnaire. Participants were 879 Finnish students from grades 7 to 9 (412 girls, 467 boys; mean age 13.81). An exploratory factor analysis was…

Objective: To evaluate the short-term outcome of the social marketing approach used in Project FIT, we developed a school- and community-based programme for promoting healthful eating and physical activity in kindergarten to 5th-grade children and their parents. Design: A 2-year quasi-experiment for children and two cross-sectional surveys for…