Journal
HEALTH EDUCATION & BEHAVIOR
Volume 31, Issue 1, Pages 34-46Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
DOI: 10.1177/1090198103255372
Keywords
nutrition; physical activity; school environment; school health; adolescence
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study aimed to identify factors in school physical and social environments that may facilitate or compete with programs and policies to improve student physical activity and nutrition. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with students, faculty, and staff of two public middle schools. Participants identified numerous aspects of the school environments as significant. Competition, teasing and bullying, time, and safety were described as major barriers for students to be physically active during physical education class, on sports teams, and before and after school. The quality of the food served, easy access to nonnutritious snacks, limited time for lunch period, and weight concerns emerged as significant reasons why students do not eat nutritious meals in school. When developing programs and policies to improve the health of students, environmental influences that undermine efforts to improve student health behaviors must be addressed.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available