Describes a physical education fitness/wellness course that uses classroom lectures on wellness plus laboratory sessions where students strive to achieve physical fitness through one specific aerobic activity. An assessment evaluated 1,500 students' knowledge gained, attitudes toward the course, current lifestyle, and physical fitness changes. It…

Since Magic Johnson's retirement, athletes and sports organizations are more interested in HIV and AIDS. Many seek answers from physicians about the risk of transmission through athletic competition and the rights of HIV-positive players. Physicians can counsel patients about reducing risk. The article discusses risk, testing, policies, education,…

Describes Ohio's Westgate Alternative School of Academic and Physical Excellence which focuses on physical education. Westgate's philosophy is based on educating the total child--physically, intellectually, and emotionally. Physical education, critical-thinking skills, health, self-concept, self-esteem, the writing process, and lifetime learning…

Describes Healthy People 2000, national health objectives designed to guide health promotion and disease prevention policy and programs throughout the 1990s. The article provides the context for compilation of Healthy People 2000 objectives relating to school health detailed in subsequent articles in this issue. (SM)

Discusses application of the Health Belief Model to the prevention of bulimia, describing each model component. The article considers the individual's beliefs about bulimia and bulimic-like behaviors as a means of predicting the likelihood of behavior change to prevent clinically diagnosable bulimia. (SM)

Discusses ways teachers could work more effectively with parents to facilitate healthy early adolescent development. After examining the importance of greater parental involvement in children's education, the article describes barriers to parent involvement and summarizes specific ways teachers could try to involve parents who have adolescent…

Campaigns to improve adolescent health must involve schools, focusing on middle grades. Currently, school organization is poor, with too little good curricular material for such students. The article describes Stanford University's interdisciplinary, core, middle grades curriculum in human biology that combats alienation from science by making it…

Provides health-related information in response to questions about whether children should go barefoot in child care settings and what precautions caregivers should follow when pets or other animals are present in child care facilities. (BB)

Researchers studied the predictive utility of the health belief model in relation to prevention of HIV infection among Asian-American college students. Surveys of 141 students indicated that perceived severity and barriers to preventive action were significant predictors of the adoption of HIV-preventive behaviors in that population. (SM)

Argues that a physical fitness center may help in fostering in-school and out-of-school physical activity among high school students. A center, with an appropriate system of accountability and focusing on individual exercise and personal responsibility, may facilitate student participation and attainment of fitness objectives. (GLR)

Offers advice to parents of children with eating disorders, focusing on the warning signs of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Suggestions for parents who think their children have eating disorders are provided. Parents are encouraged to be positive role models and be sensitive to stress. (SM)

Provides suggestions to parents on how to help their children learn about and avoid drugs and alcohol. Recommendations include teaching children values, setting and enforcing rules, educating themselves about drugs and alcohol, talking with and listening to their children, and using effective communication skills. (SM)

Presents suggestions for teaching children the science of physical fitness along with cross-curricular activities that help them stay in shape. Activities include making a fitness log to keep track of newly learned daily exercises, teaching about the Appalachian Trail then calculating and walking the equivalent distance, and charting family…

The report of the 1990 Joint Committee on Health Education Terminology provides a common interpretation of terms frequently used by health educators in many settings. Terminology is broken down into contextual definitions, primary health education definitions, definitions related to community settings, and definitions related to educational…

Discusses the use of integrated pest management to foster a safe school environment free from pesticides. This effective, environmentally sound system minimizes human exposure and reduces the toxicity of materials used to control pests. Parents, teachers, and students can educate themselves to improve school pest control practices. (SM)