Reports of swine flu have led some colleges to pull students and faculty members out of Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak, and to cancel study-abroad programs there. But even as the number of new cases appears to be falling, the health scare offers some lasting lessons for colleges, says Gary Rhodes, director of the Center for Global Education…

Our pilot study investigated if children with Down syndrome engaged in the recommended 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) every day. Twenty-three children with Down syndrome (7 girls, 16 boys; mean age 11.7 years, SD = 3.1) wore a triaxial accelerometer for 7 consecutive days to measure their activity levels. The average…

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…

Attitudes and beliefs of health care providers, in conjunction with a nonthreatening physical environment, are important components in establishing a constructive and supportive climate for care of overweight and obese students. Objective: The authors explored providers' attitudes about obesity and assessed the physical environment in a student…

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are in need of effective physical fitness training programs. The aim was to test the effectiveness of a Virtual Reality (VR)-based exercise program in improving the physical fitness of adults with IDD. A research group (N = 30; mean age = 52.3 plus or minus 5.8 years; moderate IDD…

The effectiveness of online messages to change dietary intake and level of physical activity was assessed. Thirty-six volunteers completed a 26-item pre- and post-intervention online survey and received a total of 36 email messages about MyPyramid, food labels, healthier lifestyles, and physical activity. Participants reported increased fiber…

World Diabetes Day (November 14) offers a wonderful opportunity to educate elementary children about the power they have to control their health. First lady Michelle Obama has urged Americans to educate themselves about childhood obesity, which is often associated with the onset of type II diabetes (Rabin 2010). The authors developed activities to…

This article presents data from a six-month participatory action research project. Researchers included one doctoral student and eight high-school students in New York City, all of whom identified as non-heterosexual and/or gender non-conforming. The research analyzed language and behavior in school, as well as state anti-bullying and sex…

This paper seeks to explore the politics of health promotion as a continual process of public health globally and locally. Our main objective in this study is to present the health promotion education initiatives taken by the World Health Organization (WHO) at an international level and also to examine the politics of health promotion in Greece,…

To address increasing rates of overweight and obesity, a population-based telephone intervention was introduced in New South Wales, Australia. The Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service[R] (GHS) offered participants a 6-month coaching program or detailed self-help information. Determining the population reach of GHS is of public health…

Background: This study sought to elucidate students' perceptions of school food environments and to assess correlations between perceptions and purchasing and consumption behaviors at school. Methods: Seventh and ninth graders (n = 5365) at 19 schools in multiethnic, low-income California communities participating in the Healthy Eating Active…

Adolescent immunization saves lives--but promoting immunization takes time and thought, and today's nurses and other health advocates are faced with a host of ever-expanding responsibilities in a time of reduced budgets and staff. This toolkit is thus structured as an easy and reliable resource. This 2nd edition contains: (1) a 64-page manual;…

According to new research by the London-based consumer group Which? (www.which.co.uk), a computer's keyboard may be harboring the kinds of bugs that can cause a nasty case of food poisoning. "The main cause of a bug-infested keyboard is eating at one's desk," according to a report released by the group. Crumbs and spills can wind up on and between…

This article introduces a terror management health model (TMHM). The model integrates disparate health and social psychology literatures to elucidate how the conscious and nonconscious awareness of death can influence the motivational orientation that is most operative in the context of health decisions. Three formal propositions are presented.…

Here we describe the process by which research questions were developed for reducing health risks for people with learning disabilities. A participatory approach was used to give service users and carers a clear voice in "deciding" questions, thereby setting the research agenda. Audio-taped interviews and focus groups were used. Forty people (20…