It could be claimed that the priority of any Government should be to look after the interests of the public it serves. Much of this role includes attempting to actively develop and implement policies and programmes that best contribute to or enhance general standards of living. Addressing health and wellbeing, it follows, is a reasonable vision…

Background: Overweight and obese body mass index (BMI) status affects an increasing number of children in the United States. The school setting has been identified as a focus area to implement obesity prevention programs. Methods: A database search of PubMed, Education Search Complete, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature…

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify broad overarching feeding styles that parents may use and their effects on pre-school-aged children's healthy and unhealthy snack intake. Design: Cross sectional study Methods: Mothers (n = 611) of children aged 2-7 years (mean age 3.9 years) completed an online survey assessing parent-feeding…

Epilepsy is reported to co-occur in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous studies across the world have found prevalence estimates ranging from 4 to 38%. We examined parent-reported prevalence of co-occurring epilepsy and ASD in the most recent U.S. National Survey of Children's Health, 2011-2012. All analyses accounted for…

In seeking an avenue to save money, an urban city made a choice to alter the drinking water for its residents and created a crisis, which all community stakeholders were unprepared to address. The Flint water crisis has been given national attention by celebrities and politicians, but the long-term issues related to families, children, and…

The current study examines the extent to which participation in preschool at age 4 is associated with blood pressure, body mass index, and awakening cortisol at age 15. We capitalize on data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to examine differences in adolescent health…

This resource was developed to support Peace Corps Volunteers who are working with schools to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities and programming. It is intended to provide guidance, resources, and ideas to support comprehensive WASH programming that is focused on behavior change and sustainability. There is no "one-size…

In this dissertation, I present three distinct essays in economics of education and health economics that can be read independently from one another. These studies investigate the non-pecuniary benefits of extended primary schooling in a developing country setting. I exploit the 1997 education reform in Republic of Turkey, which extended the…

Children struggle with life today. Being children in the 21st century is both taxing and exciting, and yet trying to cope with all of the technology and media that surrounds them. How do we as adults provide good models? Mindfulness, exercise, focus and attention, and healthy living strategies need to play a role in shaping healthy children.…

Five factors (gender, handedness, some aspects of general health, family history, and intelligence) that could assist speech-language pathologists in identification of children who stutter (CWS) in 42 CWS and 34 fluent control children (children who do not stutter [CWNS]) were investigated. The data reported here were obtained from assessments…

Approximately half of the children in the United States do not meet the global physical activity guidelines, and many children adopt sedentary lifestyles. Given the fact about two-thirds children are classified as overweight or obese, traditional video games have been blamed as a major contributor to children's sedentary behavior and excessive…

For many, childhood memories are of outdoor play: "baking" mud pies, building forts, climbing trees, playing tag at the park, and constructing sand castles at the beach. Children today spend only half as much time playing outside as their parents did 30 years ago. Childhood is moving indoors, yet research shows that a lack of outdoor…

Inadequate physical activity (PA) levels are reported in Indian youth, with lowest levels among adolescents, particularly girls. We aimed to identify barriers to and enablers of PA among school children in New Delhi and examine potential differences by gender and school type (government vs. private). A total of 174 students (private school…

Background: Reintegration into school is a decisive time for children who have been absent from school due to health problems, such as survivors of brain tumours and other types of acquired brain injury or cancer in childhood. Parents, school staff and healthcare providers are important stakeholders during this phase of transition. Objective: To…

The creation of healthy habits and lifestyles is fundamental in the educational field and for acquiring adequate health levels that will prevail in adulthood. The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics and correlations between the level of practice of physical activity, adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD), body mass index…