This short paper considers the development of an evidence-based approach to tackling health inequalities. Inequalities in health in England at the beginning of the 21st century have widened and are stark. Despite overall improvements in death rates, the growing gap between social groups means that now some parts of England have the same levels of…

Purpose: Sentence completion exercises require students to give open-ended responses to prompts. The first purpose of this article is to describe the method of sentence completion to assess middle-school children's attitudes and beliefs about aging. The second purpose is to describe the patterns of characteristics that children associate with…

Lifestyle Education for Activity Program (LEAP) was a comprehensive, school-based intervention designed to promote physical activity in high school girls. The intervention focused on changes in instructional practices and the school environment to affect personal, social, and environmental factors related to physical activity. Multiple process…

Attrition in weight loss programs is a complex process, influenced by patients' pretreatment characteristics and treatment variables, but available data are contradictory. Only a few variables have been confirmed by more than one study as relevant risk factors, but recently new data of clinical utility emerged from "real world" large observational…

Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD), loss of sexual desire for sexual activity, is one of the most common sexual dysfunctions of men and women in the United States. This article presents an overview of this specific sexual dysfunction including incidence, possible causes, treatment options, and the role of the health educator in addressing…

The inclusion of a representative sample of understudied populations (e.g., women, minorities, older adults, youth, and people with disabilities) in physical activity promotion studies is a public health priority. Given the limited empirical evidence of effective recruitment strategies and limitations in research methodology for both over…

Substantial scientific evidence supports the role of physical activity in disease prevention and healthy lifestyle promotion, and quality physical education represents our best opportunity to provide all children with experiences that promote physical activity now and for a lifetime. The purpose of this article is to document the need for quality…

The physical educator's role is evolving into that of a teacher who is well educated in the areas of teaching, skill acquisition and development, motor learning, exercise physiology, physical conditioning, weight management, health, and lifestyle management. In an era when childhood obesity is at an all-time high, body composition can be one…

Founded in 1961, the Academy for Educational Development (AED) is an independent, nonprofit, charitable organization that operates development programs in the United States and throughout the world. This directory presents an overview of the varied activities undertaken by AED throughout the Middle East. Current AED Programs include: (1) Behavior…

This study compared the effect of physical activity and obesity on academic achievement and was based on the premise that the health of a child has an effect on his or her ability to learn and to achieve academically. Specifically, health-related topics of inactivity and obesity were considered. The participants included 12,607 third grade…

A needs assessment funded by the Center of Substance Abuse Prevention was conducted in 2005-2006 to determine the HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and hepatitis prevention needs of Native Americans living in Baltimore, Maryland. We used a community-based participatory approach to gain an in-depth understanding of local Native American health service…

Background: The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) 2006 examined 8 components of school health programs: health education, physical education and activity, health services, mental health and social services, nutrition services, healthy and safe school environment, faculty and staff health promotion, and family and community…

Background: As society continues to focus on the importance of academic achievement, the physical environment of schools should be addressed as 1 of the critical factors that influence academic outcomes. The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) 2006 provides, for the first time, a comprehensive look at the extent to which schools have…

This article describes a participatory action research project undertaken as a partnership between student, teacher and nurse co-researchers at a Canadian alternative high school. A key purpose of this research was to explore and interpret the meaning of this partnership for mental health promoting nursing practices with adolescents. Following a…

In today's society, young children have few experiences with aerobic activities, a pattern of exercise traditionally reserved for adults. This paper discusses how aerobic exercises can be used in a preschool environment, arguing that such activities are best presented using a thematic approach so that young children can form impressions about…