Preventive medicine
-
Preventive medicine · Jan 2004
Comparative StudyNeighborhood playgrounds, fast food restaurants, and crime: relationships to overweight in low-income preschool children.
We examined the relationship between overweight in preschool children and three environmental factors--the proximity of the children's residences to playgrounds and to fast food restaurants and the safety of the children's neighborhoods. We hypothesized that children who lived farther from playgrounds, closer to fast food restaurants, and in unsafe neighborhoods were more likely to be overweight. ⋯ Within a population of urban low-income preschoolers, overweight was not associated with proximity to playgrounds and fast food restaurants or with the level of neighborhood crime.
-
Preventive medicine · Dec 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialDesign, implementation, and quality control in the Pathways American-Indian multicenter trial.
Pathways was the first multicenter American-Indian school-based study to test the effectiveness of an obesity prevention program promoting healthy eating and physical activity. ⋯ The Pathways study results provide evidence demonstrating the role schools can play in public health promotion. Its study design and QC systems and procedures provide useful models for other similar school based multi- or single-site studies.
-
Preventive medicine · Dec 2003
ReviewObesity in American-Indian children: prevalence, consequences, and prevention.
American Indians of all ages and both sexes have a high prevalence of obesity. The health risks associated with obesity are numerous and include Type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and respiratory problems. Obesity has become a major health problem in American Indians only in the past few generations and it is believed to be associated with the relative abundance of high-fat, high-calorie foods and the rapid change from active to sedentary lifestyles. ⋯ To be effective, educational and environmental interventions must be developed with full participation of the American-Indian communities.
-
Preventive medicine · Dec 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialPathways curriculum and family interventions to promote healthful eating and physical activity in American Indian schoolchildren.
Pathways, a multisite school-based study aimed at promoting healthful eating and increasing physical activity, was a randomized field trial including 1704 American Indian third to fifth grade students from 41 schools (21 intervention, 20 controls) in seven American Indian communities. ⋯ A culturally appropriate school intervention can promote positive changes in knowledge, cultural identity, and self-reported healthful eating and physical activity in American Indian children and environmental change in school food service.
-
Preventive medicine · Dec 2003
Colorectal cancer screening attitudes and behavior: a population-based study.
Even though colorectal cancer (CRC) screening tests for persons 50 years of age or over are recommended to reduce colorectal cancer mortality, screening rates remain disturbingly low. ⋯ Interventions directed at physicians and patients are essential to enhance CRC screening rates. CRC survival rates may be improved by physician-guided promotion of screening that focuses on identified barriers.