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Middle School Youth (middle + school_youth)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences100%

Selected Abstracts

Dietary and Physical Activity Behaviors of Middle School Youth: The Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey,

JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 1 2008
Lauren B. Zapata MSPH
ABSTRACT Background:, Obesity has become a national epidemic among youth. Declining physical activity and poor nutrition contribute to this epidemic. The purpose of this study was to obtain data on middle school students' physical activity and nutrition knowledge and practices. Methods:, The Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey was developed and distributed to a probability sample of Florida public middle schools (n = 73) in spring 2003, producing data from 4452 students in grades 6-8. Results:, Results showed that less than one fourth of youth met expert recommendations for daily fruit and vegetable intake and less than one fifth identified the daily fruit and vegetable serving recommendation. Less than half of students reported eating breakfast daily. More non-Hispanic black youth reported not engaging in vigorous or moderate physical activity during the previous 7 days, and more girls and Hispanic youth reported not attending any physical education classes during the average school week. Conclusion:, These findings demonstrate that dietary and physical activity behaviors and knowledge among these middle school youth are setting the stage for the obesity epidemic to continue. [source]

Children at Risk: The Association Between Perceived Weight Status and Suicidal Thoughts and Attempts in Middle School Youth,

JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 2 2007
Lauren M. Whetstone PhD
ABSTRACT Background:, Suicide is one of the most common causes of death among young people. A report from the US Surgeon General called for strategies to prevent suicide, including increasing public awareness of suicide and risks factors, and enhancing research to understand risk and protective factors. Weight perception has been linked to depression and poor self-esteem in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived weight status and suicidal thoughts and actions by gender in middle school youth. Methods:, All public middle school students in 4 eastern North Carolina counties presented, and with parental permission (n = 5174), completed the Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Middle School Questionnaire. The 3 dependent variables were self-reported thinking, planning, and attempting suicide. Bivariate analyses describe suicidal thoughts and actions; multiple logistic regression models examined the relationship between weight description and suicidal thoughts and actions controlling for age, race, household composition, grades on report cards, and parents' education. Results:, Significantly more females than males reported thinking (26% vs 19%), planning (12% vs 9%), and attempting (11% vs 8%) suicide. For females, those who perceived themselves as overweight were significantly more likely to report suicidal thoughts and actions; while for males, perceptions of overweight and underweight were significantly associated with suicidal thoughts and actions. Conclusions:, Controlling for personal and family characteristics, perceived weight status was significantly associated with suicidal thoughts and actions in middle school boys and girls. [source]

Dietary and Physical Activity Behaviors of Middle School Youth: The Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey,

JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 1 2008
Lauren B. Zapata MSPH
ABSTRACT Background:, Obesity has become a national epidemic among youth. Declining physical activity and poor nutrition contribute to this epidemic. The purpose of this study was to obtain data on middle school students' physical activity and nutrition knowledge and practices. Methods:, The Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey was developed and distributed to a probability sample of Florida public middle schools (n = 73) in spring 2003, producing data from 4452 students in grades 6-8. Results:, Results showed that less than one fourth of youth met expert recommendations for daily fruit and vegetable intake and less than one fifth identified the daily fruit and vegetable serving recommendation. Less than half of students reported eating breakfast daily. More non-Hispanic black youth reported not engaging in vigorous or moderate physical activity during the previous 7 days, and more girls and Hispanic youth reported not attending any physical education classes during the average school week. Conclusion:, These findings demonstrate that dietary and physical activity behaviors and knowledge among these middle school youth are setting the stage for the obesity epidemic to continue. [source]

Children at Risk: The Association Between Perceived Weight Status and Suicidal Thoughts and Attempts in Middle School Youth,

JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 2 2007
Lauren M. Whetstone PhD
ABSTRACT Background:, Suicide is one of the most common causes of death among young people. A report from the US Surgeon General called for strategies to prevent suicide, including increasing public awareness of suicide and risks factors, and enhancing research to understand risk and protective factors. Weight perception has been linked to depression and poor self-esteem in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived weight status and suicidal thoughts and actions by gender in middle school youth. Methods:, All public middle school students in 4 eastern North Carolina counties presented, and with parental permission (n = 5174), completed the Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Middle School Questionnaire. The 3 dependent variables were self-reported thinking, planning, and attempting suicide. Bivariate analyses describe suicidal thoughts and actions; multiple logistic regression models examined the relationship between weight description and suicidal thoughts and actions controlling for age, race, household composition, grades on report cards, and parents' education. Results:, Significantly more females than males reported thinking (26% vs 19%), planning (12% vs 9%), and attempting (11% vs 8%) suicide. For females, those who perceived themselves as overweight were significantly more likely to report suicidal thoughts and actions; while for males, perceptions of overweight and underweight were significantly associated with suicidal thoughts and actions. Conclusions:, Controlling for personal and family characteristics, perceived weight status was significantly associated with suicidal thoughts and actions in middle school boys and girls. [source]

Developmental Considerations for Substance Use Interventions From Middle School Through College

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 3 2005
Elizabeth J. D'Amico
This article summarizes a symposium organized by Dr. Elizabeth D'Amico and presented at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism in Vancouver, Canada. The four presentations illustrate the importance of creating substance use interventions that are developmentally appropriate for youth. They represent innovative approaches to working with preteens, teenagers, and young adults. Dr. D'Amico's paper describes her research on the development of a voluntary brief intervention targeting alcohol use among middle school students. Findings indicated that by using school and community input, she was able to obtain a diverse a sample of youth across grades, sex, ethnicity, and substance use status. Dr. Ellickson's paper describes her research on Project ALERT, a school-based prevention program for middle school youth. Her findings indicate that Project ALERT worked for students at all levels of risk (low, moderate, and high) and for all students combined. Dr. Wagner's Teen Intervention Project was a randomized clinical trial to test the efficacy of a standardized Student Assistance Program for treating middle and high school students with alcohol and other drug problems. The study provided a unique opportunity to begin to examine how development may impact response to an alcohol or other drug intervention. Dr. Turrisi's paper examined processes underlying the nature of the effects of a parent intervention on college student drinking tendencies. Findings suggested that the parent intervention seems to have its impact on student drinking by reducing the influence of negative communications and decreasing the susceptibility of influences from closest friends. Dr. Kim Fromme provided concluding remarks. [source]