Responses of health and physical educators to overweight children in Alabama.

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the increasing problem of overweight children in Alabama including clinical definition, risk factors, and prevalence data. Health and physical educators should become familiar with guidelines released by national organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine, and state departments of education and public health. These guidelines provide direction to health promotion program activities in schools, community, and recreational settings aimed at modifying predisposing, reinforcing, and enabling factors. Four examples are presented in the narrative to illustrate collaborative partnerships among health care organizations, a health insurer, public schools, an academic research university, and state agencies to enhance youth health. The final section provides practical recommendations for professional health and physical educators regarding obesity risk reduction.