In spring 2017, for the third year running, 10th graders at Boston Green Academy (BGA) presented GreenTalks, a showcase of research on food justice issues. The day Christina Kuriacose visited the school, students were presenting the PowerPoints they had put together. All of them included a map plotting out the proximity of their neighborhood or…

Financial incentives are being used increasingly to encourage a wide array of health behaviors because of their well-established efficacy. However, little is known about how to translate incentive-based strategies to public health practice geared toward improving population-level health, and a dearth of research exists on how individuals respond…

Background: Schools are frequent settings for childhood obesity prevention; however, intervention results are mixed. Classroom context may hold important clues to improving these interventions. Methods: We used mixed methods to examine classroom context during a curriculum intervention taught by trained instructors in fifth grade classrooms. We…

Background: Long-term evaluation studies reveal that high-quality early care and education (ECE) programs that include a lifestyle component predict later adult health outcomes. The purpose of this article is to characterize the nutrition and physical activity (PA) practices, including implementation difficulty and barriers, of licensed center-…

This study examined differences in grade school students' BMI percentiles before and after the "Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act" of 2012 and factors that may have influenced those differences. Using publically available data from the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Education, a comparative analysis of BMI percentiles, ethnicity,…

Mental illnesses are often deemed low in health priority despite their large burden of disease. Because many chronic mental illnesses have early onset, youth present a high-risk cohort for disproportionate health burden. Stigma and literacy are two potential barriers to care, so pre-K to 12 schools offer an efficient platform for disseminating…

Background: Behavioral interventions to prevent pediatric obesity have shown inconsistent results across the field. Studying what happens within the "black box" of these interventions and how differences in implementation lead to different outcomes will help researchers develop more effective interventions. Aim: To compare the…

Background: Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more apt to experience lower availability of nutritious foods, lack opportunities to exercise, and lack access to recreational facilities, and thus, are more likely to be obese and at greater risk for developing chronic diseases. We review school health education programs' impact on physical…

Purpose/Objectives: Farm to school (FTS) programs have many benefits, including potential for increased consumption of fruits and vegetables by students. However, there are challenges with hourly school nutrition employees' abilities to successfully process local produce and promote it to students. The purpose of this study was to identify…

While we are seeking new ways to ensure students' academic success, we must ensure that we are not neglecting their need for physical activity. As we innovate to improve academic success, we can also seek ways to overcome the challenges of space, time, and behavior management to reap the benefits of movement, which include increased student…

The guidebook is divided into seven parts. Part I provides an overview of the Enabling Component and places the concept in the context of current restructuring initiatives. Part II offers an overview of the process for introducing and adapting the Component at a site using a formal diffusion model. A diffusion model is a tool for organizational…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to document typical vocal health characteristics (including voice-related activities, behaviors, and symptomatology) of young adults attending college and to determine lifetime and point prevalence rates of voice disorders. Method: Undergraduates at University of Wisconsin-Madison completed an anonymous…

The purpose of this commentary is to provide an overview of national physical activity recommendations and policies (e.g., from the Institute of Medicine, National Physical Activity Plan, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and to discuss how these important initiatives can be implemented in local schools. Successful policies are…

The present article provides commentary on this pioneering special issue covering the usefulness of so-called mind-body practices with youth and in schools. I begin by addressing the way we talk about this approach to practice, describing a few undesirable consequences that can follow from using the mind-body moniker adopted from the world of…

Clinical sexual health consultations with young women often focus on avoiding "risks;" namely pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection transmission. They also typically fail to explore how contraception use can impact on the capacity to enjoy sexual relationships. In contrast, this paper argues that sexual pleasure should be a…