Building design and grounds might contribute to physical activity, and youth spend much of their daylight hours at school. We examined the associations among school building footprints, the size of school grounds, and in-school physical activity of 1566 sixth-grade girls from medium to large middle schools enrolled in the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG). The school building footpr...

It is often said that students who perform well in school are those that understand the rules of the game. In other words, students need to understand not only the content related to an activity, but also the teacher expectations for how to participate in that activity and how the activity is typically structured (Doyle, 1979; Mehan, 1980). Lemke (1990) provides an example of a predominant acti...

IMPORTANCE The latest US Department of Agriculture school meal and competitive venue standards (USDA standards) aim to improve student nutrition and health. However, significant opposition has been raised to their implementation. OBJECTIVE To examine (1) the percentages of US middle and high school students who currently attend schools that have specific components of the USDA standards; (2) ...

OBJECTIVE To (i) evaluate food choices and consumption patterns of elementary- and middle-school students who participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and (ii) compare students' average nutrient intake from lunch with NSLP standards. DESIGN Plate waste from elementary- and middle-school students' lunch trays was measured in autumn 2010 using a previously validated digital photo...

CONTEXT Many states are developing tobacco use prevention and reduction programs, and current data on tobacco use behaviors and how these change over time in response to program activities are needed for program design, implementation, and evaluation. OBJECTIVES To assess changes in youth cigarette use and intentions following implementation of the Florida Pilot Program on Tobacco Control. ...

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States; if current smoking rates continue, 5.6 million Americans aged <18 years who are alive today are projected to die prematurely from smoking-related disease. Tobacco use and addiction mostly begin during youth and young adulthood. CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analyzed data from the 2011-2015 N...

BACKGROUND School-based extracurricular sport remains an effective strategy to increase physical activity. However, school sport is often limited to a small number of elite athletes. Few schools provide more inclusive sport programs that offer a wider array of activities regardless of ability. PURPOSE The aim of this study was to examine school sport participation in middle schools (ages 11-1...