Examing the role of school characteristics in childhood obesity, physical activity and health promotion

项目摘要/摘要 在美国，近三分之一的儿童和青少年超重或肥胖。儿童肥胖症一直以来 被证明跟踪到成年期，并增加其他心脏代谢危险因素和疾病的风险。而当 肥胖症在美国很普遍，但其负担在社会经济方面存在着持续的差异 身份和种族/民族。尽管继续研究遏制肥胖流行的方法，但进展甚微 在减轻其负担方面取得了进展。学校经常被视为预防肥胖的理想目标， 促进健康公平，因为他们有能力接触到所有儿童，而不受父母教育或 家庭层面的障碍。学校的特点，如气候和环境，也在总体上起着作用 教育程度是成年人健康的一个公认的风险因素，并与健康有关 饮食和体力活动等行为。然而，受教育程度、 学业成绩和学校质量与肥胖和肥胖有着相似的社会人口梯度。 相关健康行为。学校环境的根本性结构性变化和促进 学校公平可能是解决儿童肥胖症差异的一种方式，同时也可以改善 儿童的社会状况。然而，很少有流行病学研究研究学校的作用。 关于儿童健康方面的特点，目前没有用于研究的一致指标。 这个项目的首要目标是评估学校特征在儿童体重状况中的作用， 体育活动，以及学校层面体育活动干预的有效性。目标1将估计 学校特征与BMI发展轨迹的关系及全国代表性样本的研究 美国小学适龄儿童。目标2将确定相对于个人和社区层面的因素， 学校水平的特征解释了儿童体重指数和体力活动的异质性 佐治亚州的小学。目标3将确定学校特征是否会改变 佐治亚州小学实施循证体力活动干预。这样做的结果 论文可能会为学校肥胖预防计划的实施提供参考，并提供 为学校和教育政策制定者提供证据。

Project Summary/Abstract Almost a third of children and adolescents in the US are overweight or obese. Childhood obesity has been shown to track into adulthood and increase the risk of other cardio-metabolic risk factors and diseases. While obesity is largely prevalent across the US, there are consistent disparities in its burden by socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. Despite continued research on ways to curb the obesity epidemic, little progress has been made in reducing its burden. Schools are often seen as an ideal target for obesity prevention efforts and health equity promotion because of their ability to reach all children regardless of parental education or household level barriers. School characteristics, such as climate and environment, also play a role in overall educational attainment, a well-established risk factor for adult health, and have been associated with health behaviors such as diet and physical activity. However, disparities in factors such as educational attainment, academic achievement, and school quality exist along similar sociodemographic gradients as obesity and its related health behaviors. Fundamental structural changes to school environments and policies to promote equity across schools may represent a way to address disparities in childhood obesity while also improving social conditions for children. However, very few epidemiologic studies have examined the roles of school characteristics as they relates to childhood health, and there are no consistent indicators used for research. The overarching goal of this project is to assess the role of school characteristics in childhood weight status, physical activity, and the effectiveness of a school level physical activity intervention. Aim 1 will estimate the association between school characteristics and trajectories of BMI and in a nationally representative sample of US elementary school-aged children. Aim 2 will determine if, relative to individual and community level factors, school-level characteristics explain heterogeneity in BMI and physical activity among children attending elementary schools in Georgia. Aim 3 will determine if school characteristics modify the effectiveness of an evidence-based physical activity intervention implemented in elementary schools in Georgia. The results of this dissertation may inform the implementation of school-based obesity prevention programs, and provide evidence to school and education policy-makers.