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Objective: To evaluate implementation of nutrition/physical activity-related policies/practices at colleges participating in a healthy campus initiative and campus health leaders' perceptions of policies/practices' support for student health and ease of/barriers to implementation. Participants: Health leaders at colleges participating in the Healthier Campus Initiative (HCI), with completed or ongoing three-year HCI commitments. Methods: Surveys asked which of 41 guidelines were implemented and perceptions around support for student health and ease of/barriers to implementation. Qualitative interviews explored similar domains. Results: Campuses with completed HCI commitments ( n  = 17) averaged 27.6 guidelines implemented, versus 21.1 on campuses with commitments ongoing ( n  = 13; p  = 0.003). Perceived support for student health and implementation ease varied by guideline. Common implementation barriers included financial costs and time. Interviews largely reinforced these findings. Conclusions: Completion of a campus environmental change initiative may be associated with more health-supporting practices. Campuses may benefit from implementing coordinated policy/practice changes supporting healthy eating and physical activity.

Health-promoting behaviors for childhood obesity prevention are needed across multiple environments where children spend time, including out-of-school time (OST). Therefore Healthy Kids Out of School (HKOS) developed intervention strategies to promote three evidence-based principles (Drink Right, Move More, Snack Smart) for obesity prevention in OST. The strategies were developed with stakeholder input, disseminated, and evaluated (2012-2015) in two volunteer-led OST organizations, Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and 4-H, across three US states using the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance) framework. Mixed methods were used involving surveys, key informant interviews, and organizational-level data collection. Sixty out of 81 (74.1%) BSA districts and 4-H counties reaching 84,590 children (72% of children participating in BSA and 4-H in three states) adopted the strategies. 530 surveys completed by local OST leaders at baseline and 294 at follow-up showed the percentage of programs offering healthy beverages and opportunities for physical activity increased from baseline to follow-up (beverages 26% baseline, 35% follow-up, odds ratio (OR) 1.53; physical activity 31% baseline, 45% follow-up, OR 1.79; all p < 0.05). The increasing trend for healthy snacks was statistically non-significant (p = 0.09). Leaders interviewed reported the strategies were easy to implement, a good fit with their program, facilitated success, and they expected to maintain the changes. Integration of HKOS customized materials (BSA patch and 4-H pin) on BSA and 4-H national websites is a broader indicator of maintenance. Intervention strategies developed with stakeholder input and disseminated with training can effectively facilitate healthy environments for children, and have potential for national scale., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Let's Move! Active Schools (LMAS), now Active Schools, is a national initiative in the United States (US) that aims to engage schools to increase students' opportunities to be physically active. This evaluation describes changes in school-level practices related to physical education (PE) and physical activity (PA) among schools that received an LMAS-partner grant from ChildObesity180 or Fuel Up to Play 60 (FUTP60). ChildObesity180 and FUTP60 asked grantee schools to complete nine common questions, between October 2013 and August 2014, before and after receiving the grants to assess progress in implementing practices for PE and PA. "Yes" responses indicated presence of PE/PA-supportive practices. For schools with complete pre and post data (n=972), frequencies of "yes" responses were calculated for each practice at pre/post. Schools receiving a FUTP60 partner grant reported statistically significant improvements from pre to post across five practices for PE and PA, and ChildObesity180 grantees reported significant increases on all practices except daily recess, which was already in place at 95% of schools at pre-survey. Schools across both grant programs reported the largest increases for promoting PA via messaging, implementing classroom PA breaks, and providing PA before and after school. Schools in both programs reported smaller, but statistically significant, increases in requiring the recommended minutes of PE. This study illustrates the feasibility of offering small grants, at a national scale, for schools to make changes that support PA throughout the day. Results suggest that schools can shift PA policies and practices over the course of a school year., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Introduction: Widespread practices supporting availability of healthful foods, beverages, and physical activity in out-of-school-time (OST) settings would further obesity prevention efforts. The objective of this article was to describe principles to guide policy development in support of healthy eating and physical activity practices in out-of-school settings to promote obesity prevention., Methods: The Institute of Medicine's L.E.A.D. framework (Locate Evidence, Evaluate it, Assemble it, and Inform Decisions) was used to identify practices relevant to children's healthful eating in most OST settings: 1) locate and evaluate information from a national survey of children's perceptions of healthful-food access; published research, reports, policies and guidelines; and roundtables with OST organizations' administrators; 2) assemble information to prioritize actionable practices; and 3) inform programmatic direction., Results: Three evidence-informed guiding principles for short-duration OST resulted: 1) drink right: choose water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages; 2) move more: boost movement and physical activity in all programs; and 3) snack smart: fuel up on fruits and vegetables., Conclusion: Healthy Kids Out of School was launched to support the dissemination and implementation of these guiding principles in short-duration OST settings, complementing efforts in other OST settings to shift norms around eating and physical activity.

The article offers information on a study in which parents' perspectives about nutrition and physical activity (PA) during out-of-school time (OST). It mentions that 600 parents with a school-aged child participated in programs from selected OST organizations. It adds that about two thirds of parents agreed that OST programs should promote healthy environments for children, whereas one third agreed that parents alone should be responsible for children's nutrition and PA.