Journal of School Health

Evidence suggests that children gain more weight during the summer months compared with the school year. To examine the impact of the school and summer environment on children's weight further, we conducted a 5‐year longitudinal study examining changes in standardized BMI (zBMI) of students entering kindergarten.

Heights and weights were obtained at the beginning and end of each school year for 3,588 ethnically diverse (Caucasian: 27.2%, Black: 29.0%, Hispanic: 26.4%, and Asian 17.4%) students aged 5‐7.

A significant difference in change in zBMI during the school and summer months was found (−0.52, 95% CI: −0.59 to −0.45, p < .001; Wald χ² = 171.89, p < .001). Overall, children decreased BMI percentile during time spent in school by 1.5 percentile points and increased by 5.2 percentile points during summer months. Differences in the velocity of weight gain were found across weight classification categories with only overweight and obese children decreasing their zBMI during the school year.

Time spent in school was shown to have a beneficial impact on students' weight, especially for students who were overweight or obese. However, these results are alarming because weight gain during elementary school occurs primarily during the relatively short span of summer break.

Income disparities in US youth in academic achievement appear to widen during the summer because of discontinued learning among children from lower‐income households. Little is known about whether behavioral risk factors for childhood obesity, such as diet and physical activity, also demonstrate a widening difference by income when children are out of school.

Data from US children in grades 1‐12 in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003‐2008 (N = 6796) were used to estimate screen time, moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and consumption of calories, vegetables, and added sugar. Linear regression was used to compare among children of households ≤185% and >185% poverty, as well as during the school year versus on school breaks.

Children surveyed during summer breaks consumed fewer vegetables (−0.2 cups/day) and more added sugar (+2.1 teaspoons/day), were more active (+4.6 MVPA minutes/day) and watched more television (+18 minutes/day). However, the nonsignificant interaction between school breaks and income indicated that lower‐income students were not “less healthy” than higher‐income students during the summer breaks.

Obesity‐related risk factors were more prevalent during the summer and among lower‐income youths, but the income disparity in these behaviors was not exacerbated when schools are not in session.

Collection of valid and reliable surveillance data as a basis for school health promotion and education policy and practice for children and adolescence is of great importance. However, numerous methodological and practical problems arise in the planning and collection of such survey data that need to be resolved in order to ensure the validity of the data and to maximize the response rate without being prohibitively costly.

This article builds on a 15‐yearlong experience of such annual data collections in Iceland and describes the preparation, process, and collection of data that provide a common methodologic framework for the school‐based survey, Youth in Europe, a population‐based survey of 14‐ to 16‐year‐old adolescents, being collected across 18 European cities now participating in the European Cities Against Drugs (ECAD) program.

We identified 11 critical steps for developing and implementing the surveys in light of the recent literature on the preparation and implementation practices in school‐based data collection among adolescents.

Limiting the disruption of daily operations in schools while at the same time ensuring both quality and clarity of data collection procedures in school‐based surveys are of paramount importance for researchers, school personnel, and students.

Numerous studies document support for sexuality education to be taught in high school, and often, in middle school. However, little research has been conducted addressing support for sexuality education in elementary schools.

As part of the state Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Survey administration, the Florida Department of Health conducted the Florida Child Health Survey (FCHS) by calling back parents who had children in their home and who agreed to participate (N = 1715).

Most parents supported the following sexuality education topics being taught specifically in elementary school: communication skills (89%), human anatomy/reproductive information (65%), abstinence (61%), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (53%), and gender/sexual orientation issues (52%). Support was even greater in middle school (62‐91%) and high school (72‐91%) for these topics and for birth control and condom education. Most parents supported comprehensive sexuality education (40.4%), followed by abstinence‐plus (36.4%) and abstinence‐only (23.2%). Chi‐square results showed significant differences in the type of sexuality education supported by almost all parent demographic variables analyzed including sex, race, marital status, and education.

Results add substantial support for age‐appropriate school‐based sexuality education starting at the elementary school level, the new National Sexuality Education Standards, and funding to support evidence‐based abstinence‐plus or comprehensive sexuality education.