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High prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes has emerged as a concern in China. The Pathway to Health Program was designed to prevent type 2 diabetes onset in prediabetic women in a north China urban community. This process evaluation of a randomized controlled trial analysed participant surveys at the 6- and 12-month assessment times, participant weekly logs, class attendance records and post-study participant focus group results. The reported levels of participant engagement in physical activity (PA)-related behaviors were higher than diet-related behaviors at the 6-month assessment. The engagement in both PA- and diet-related behaviors declined during the 6-month follow-up period. Step counts from the participants' pedometers indicated an increase in PA in the first 6 months of the intervention. Study participants expressed high levels of satisfaction with the intervention and increased their scores on diabetes-related knowledge. Conflicts with work and family responsibilities were the main barriers for missing health lessons, likely contributing to minimal weight loss. There was good fidelity in program implementation. Intensive lifestyle modification programs are difficult to sustain once the program is complete. A more structured 6-month follow-up phase may have provided needed support to enable participants to maintain their lifestyle changes.

Objective: This study examined students' perceptions of and suggestions for the Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program, a free, school-based fruit and vegetable snack program implemented in elementary schools in 2 regions of northern Ontario, Canada. Methods: This was a qualitative study involving 18 focus groups with students in 11 elementary schools in the Porcupine region and 7 schools in the Algoma region. One hundred thirty-nine students from grades 5-8 participated in this study. Inductive content analysis was used to identify key themes. Results: Children perceived the Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program to be a valuable program that allowed them to try new fruits and vegetables (FVs). Participants stated they now eat more FVs at home and at school. Participants would like the program offered more frequently and with more variety. Conclusions and Implications: Although children identified several areas for program improvement, they generally perceived the program to be positive and valuable in promoting FV consumption. (Contains 3 tables.)

Objective: To solicit school principals' and teachers' perspectives on children's screen-related sedentary behaviour and to identify possible solutions to reduce sedentary behaviours among school-aged children. Method: In-person interviews using a semi-structured interview guide were conducted with school principals and grades five and six classroom teachers in 14 randomly selected elementary schools in London and Middlesex County, Ontario. Fourteen principals and 39 classroom teachers participated in the study. Inductive content analysis was performed independently by two researchers. Results: Both principals and teachers were very concerned about children's excessive screen viewing activities, but they did not perceive that they could play a key role in reducing these behaviours. Key barriers were identified to reducing screen-related sedentary behaviour and to children's active living both at and away from school. They included competing demands from other subjects, limited gym resources/space within the school, a lack of control over the home environment, and a perception that parents were poor role models. Notwithstanding the above barriers, principals and teachers still recommended increasing children's daily physical activity both within and outside of school hours. Furthermore, they stressed the need for parents to play a key role in reducing their children's screen-related sedentary behaviours and increasing their level of physical activity. Conclusion: School principals and teachers were very concerned about excessive screen-related behaviour among school-aged children when away from school and suggested that interventions should emphasize increasing daily physical education, promoting recreational sports at or away from school, and engaging parents in regulating screen time at home. (Contains 1 note and 3 tables.)

Objective: To investigate school-aged children's and parents' attitudes, social influences, and intentions toward excessive screen-related sedentary behavior (S-RSB). Design: A cross-sectional study using a survey methodology. Setting: Elementary schools in London, Ontario, Canada. Participants: All grades 5 and 6 students, their parents, and their teachers in the participating schools were invited to voluntarily participate; 508 student-parent pairs completed the surveys. Main Outcome Measure: Children's screen-related behaviors. Analysis: Data were analyzed using the Independent Student t test to compare differences of continuous variables and the chi-square test to test for differences of categorical variables. Results: Children spent 3.3 [plus or minus] 0.15 (standard error) hours per day engaged in screen-related activities. Entertainment, spending time with family, and boredom were cited as the top 3 reasons for television viewing and video game playing. Compared to "low-screen users" (ie, less than 2 hours/day), "high-screen users" (ie, [greater than or equal to] 2 hours/day) had a less negative attitude toward excessive S-RSB and perceived loosened parental rules on screen use. Parents of high-screen users had a less negative attitude toward children's S-RSB, had fewer rules about their children's screen use, and were more likely to be sedentary themselves. Conclusions and Implications: Intervention strategies aimed at reducing S-RSB should involve both parents and children and should focus on fostering behavioral changes and promoting parental role modeling. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

Objectives: This study examines environmental factors associated with BMI (body mass index) levels among adolescents with the aim of identifying potential interventions for reducing childhood obesity. Methods: Students (n=1,048) aged 10-14 years at 28 schools in London, ON, completed a survey providing information on age, sex, height, weight, home address, etc., which was used to construct age-sex adjusted BMI z-scores. The presence of recreation opportunities, fast-food outlets and convenience stores was assessed using four areal units around each participant's home and school neighbourhood: 'circular buffers' encompassing territory within a straight-line distance of 500 m and 1000 m; and 'network buffers' of 500 m and 1000 m measured along the street network. School neighbourhoods were also assessed using school-specific 'walksheds'. Multilevel structural equation modeling techniques were employed to simultaneously test the effects of school-environment (Level 2) and home-environment (Level 1) predictors on BMI z-scores. Results: Most participants (71%) had a normal BMI, 16.9% were overweight, 7.6% were obese, and 4.6% were considered underweight. Multilevel analyses indicated that built environment characteristics around children's homes and schools had a modest but significant effect on their BMI. The presence of public recreation opportunities within a 500 m network distance of home was associated with lower BMI z-scores (p Conclusion: Interventions and policies that improve children's access to publicly provided recreation opportunities near home and that mitigate the concentration of fast-food outlets close to schools may be key to promoting healthy lifestyles and reducing childhood obesity. Key words: Obesity; child; adolescent; environment; diet; recreation Objectifs: Notre etude porte sur les facteurs environnementaux associes a l'IMC (indice de masse corporelle) d'adolescents en vue de cerner des interventions possibles pour reduire l'obesite infantile. Methode: Des eleves (n=1 048) de 10 a 14 ans frequentant 28 ecoles de London, en Ontario, ont rempli un questionnaire sur leur age, leur sexe, leur taille, leur poids, leur adresse personnelle, etc., lequel a servi a construire des ecarts Z ajustes selon l'age et le sexe pour l'IMC. La presence de possibilites de loisir, d'etablissements de restauration rapide et de depanneurs a ete evaluee a l'aide de quatre unites de surface autour du domicile et du quartier scolaire de chaque participant : des << zones tampons circulaires >> englobant le territoire sur une distance entre 500 et 1000 m en ligne droite; et des << zones tampon de reseau >> de 500 a 1000 m mesurees le long du reseau des rues. Les quartiers scolaires ont aussi ete evalues a l'aide des << bassins de marche >> propres a l'ecole. Une modelisation multiniveaux par equations structurelles a servi a evaluer simultanement les effets de predicteurs des ecarts Z de l'IMC lies a l'environnement scolaire (niveau 2) et au milieu de vie (niveau 1). Resultats: La plupart des participants (71 %) avaient un IMC normal, 16,9 % etaient en surpoids, 7,6 % etaient obeses, et 4,6 % etaient consideres comme etant de poids insuffisant. Des analyses multiniveaux ont montre que les caracteristiques du milieu bati autour du domicile et de l'ecole des enfants avaient un effet mineur mais significatif sur leur IMC. La presence d'installations de loisir publiques dans un reseau de 500 m du domicile etait associee a des ecarts Z d'IMC inferieurs (p Conclusion: Les interventions et les politiques qui ameliorent l'acces des enfants a des installations de loisir publiques pres de chez eux et qui attenuent la concentration des etablissements de restauration rapide pres des ecoles pourraient etre la cle du succes pour promouvoir les modes de vie sains et reduire l'obesite infantile. Mots cles: obesite; enfant; adolescent; environnement; regime alimentaire; loisir La traduction du resume se trouve a la fin de l'article. Can J Public Health 2012;103(Suppl. 3):S15-S21., Childhood obesity has become a critical public health issue in Canada, as rates have tripled over the past three decades. (1) Over one in four Canadian children are either overweight [...]

Objectives. We examined whether certain characteristics of the social and physical environment influence a child's mode of travel between home and school. Methods. Students aged 11 to 13 years from 21 schools throughout London, Ontario, answered questions from a travel behavior survey. A geographic information system linked survey responses for 614 students who lived within 1 mile of school to data on social and physical characteristics of environments around the home and school. Logistic regression analysis was used to test the influence of environmental factors on mode of travel (motorized vs 'active') to and from school. Results. Over 62% of students walked or biked to school, and 72% from school to home. The likelihood of walking or biking to school was positively associated with shorter trips, male gender, higher land use mix, and presence of street trees. Active travel from school to home was also associated with lower residential densities and lower neighborhood incomes. Conclusions. Our findings demonstrate that active travel is associated with environmental characteristics and suggest that school planners should consider these factors when siting schools in order to promote increased physical activity among students. (doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008. 135319)

The purpose of this study was to provide some preliminary description of the Latin-Canadian community by reporting the socioeconomic status, physical activity, and weight status (i.e., healthy weight, overweight, or obese status) of Colombians newly immigrated to London, Ontario Canada. Face-to-face interviews were conducted on a convenience sample of 77 adult Colombian immigrant food bank users (46.8% men; mean age 39.9 yr., SD = 11.8). Physical activity was gauged using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and self-report Body Mass Index, and sociodemographic data were collected. Of respondents, 47% had a university education, and 97% received social support. 61% met recommended levels of physical activity. Men were more active, being involved in about 130 min. more of exercise per week, and more men were overweight than women (63.9% versus 39.0%, respectively). Of respondents, 73% reported being less active than before coming to Canada. This pilot study indicates that Latin-Canadian immigrants are a vulnerable group in need of acculturational support. Further study is warranted.

Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) has received enormous interest for photocatalysis owing to its narrow band gap of 2.17 eV, which is beneficial for visible-light absorption. In this work, we succeeded in synthesizing Cu2O nanocrystals with two morphologies, cube and sphere, at room temperature via a simple wet-chemistry strategy. The morphologies of Cu2O change from cube to sphere when adding PVP from 0 g to 4 g and the mainly exposed crystal faces of cubic and spherical Cu2O are (100) and (111), respectively. The photocatalytic properties of the as-prepared Cu2O were evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO). Cubic Cu2O(100) showed excellent photocatalytic activity. After the optical and photoelectric properties were investigated, we found that cubic Cu2O(100) has better photoelectric separation efficiency than spherical Cu2O(111). Finally, the possible mechanism was proposed for cubic Cu2O(100) degrading MO under visible light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]