Assessing

Some children are overweight because they are not physically active enough. For example, perhaps they don't walk to school. If you want to design an effective intervention to encourage them to walk to school, you need to know why they don't. Are sidewalks lacking? Are parents afraid of crime? Do kids think it's uncool? What else might be going on?

This module will help you assess the factors that contribute to childhood obesity at three levels: behavioral; environmental; and predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing.

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

• Describe the prevalence, trends, and consequences of childhood obesity
• Discuss the rationale for and the process of applying an ecological approach for planning interventions to promote healthy eating and active living
• List key child and adult behaviors contributing to excessive weight gain in children
• Assess environmental factors contributing to excessive weight gain in children
• Assess and prioritize predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors related to excessive weight gain in children

Course Content © 2006, Cornell University Cornell NutritionWorks: Preventing Childhood Obesity	Powered by eCornell, © 2006, TILS