Objective: To investigate New Zealand children's understandings of "health". Design: Secondary analysis of student responses to a task called "Being Healthy" in New Zealand's National Education Monitoring Project. Setting: Year 4 (8-9 year-old) and Year 8 (12-13 year-old) students who took part in New Zealand's National…

Data from a survey of food intake and diet/health knowlege was used to compare children's milk consumption in terms of their mothers' (n=619) health awareness and other characteristics. Awareness increased adolescents' dairy consumption but not that of preschool and primary school children. Socioeconomic factors played a negligible role. (Contains…

Investigated the distribution of diabetic patients' stages of change to follow an exercise regimen, examining whether later stages of change were associated with better glycemic control. Data on participants from a primary care clinic (who were predominantly black, female, and indigent) indicated that over half of were in pre-contemplation,…

Introduces the risk perception attitude (RPA) framework that categorizes individuals into one of four attitudinal groups: responsive, avoidance, proactive, and indifference. Conducts two studies using college students as subjects. Finds that when risk and efficacy are made salient, people's risk perception guides most of their subsequent actions,…

Investigated gender and ethnic differences in smoking and smoking cessation among young adult military recruits. Surveys administered at the start of basic training indicated that whites (especially white females) and Native Americans were more likely to smoke than other ethnic groups. Gender differences were not observed in cessation rates, which…

Examines research-based reasons for children to eat breakfast, explaining that breakfast provides an opportunity to boost nutrient intake, enhances learning and school performance,and teaches childen healthy lifetime habits. The article notes that what children eat for breakfast may have an impact on learning. Research has shown that while cereal…

Describes transitions over 5 years among community-dwelling elderly spouses into and within caregiving roles and associated health outcomes. The trajectory of health outcomes associated with caregiving was generally downward. Those who transitioned to heavy caregiving had more symptoms of depression, and poorer self-reported health and health…

Developed a simulation model to predict the effects of policies for reducing adolescent smoking initiation. The model projected numbers of smokers, never smokers, and ex-smokers by age, sex, and race/ethnicity and effects of reductions in youth initiation. Results predicted that even if tobacco policies eliminated youth initiation, the number of…

Because of the unpredictability of food in nature, humans have evolved to eat to their physiological limits when food is plentiful. Discrepancies between the environment in which the hunger and eating system evolved and the food-replete environments in which many people live have led to the current problem of overconsumption. This evolutionary…

To help motivate older adults to initiate and adhere to an exercise program, a seven-step approach was developed: education about benefits, screening, goal setting, exposure to exercise, exposure to role models, verbal encouragement from credible sources, and reinforcement and rewards. (Contains 65 references.) (SK)

Surveyed college health center directors about policies addressing smoking and availability of smoking cessation programs. Though 85 percent considered students' smoking a problem, only 81 percent of colleges prohibited smoking in all public areas, and only 27 percent banned smoking in all indoor areas. Though over half of the schools offered…

To examine changes in cigarette smoking among high school students from 1991-99, researchers analyzed data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Results indicate that students' current smoking increased significantly, from 27.5 percent to 34.8 percent during that time. Results also suggest that later in the decade, current smoking may have…

Discusses exercise adherence from the perspective of adhering to an exercise treatment in a controlled trial, focusing on: adherence (to intervention and measurement); the development of randomized clinical trials; exemplary randomized clinical trials in exercise science (exercise training studies and physical activity interventions); and study…

Proposes a paradigm shift in physical activity prescription which involves: an idiographic approach; preferred exertion rather than a given percent of maximum in the prescription of exercise intensity; and purposeful physical activity. A summary of 10 cases is presented, revealing adherence figures ranging from 5 to 79 years. Adherence of 100…