Obesity among over-the-road truckers (OTRs) is an epidemic creating significant public health issues among this population. The consequences of obesity (hypertension, diabetes, heart disease) put both truckers' health and their medical clearance at significant risk. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of gender, physical activity, diet, and sleep on obesity among OTRs. Through a socioecological lens, this study examined whether obesity is significantly impacted by gender, physical activity, nutrition, and sleep. This study also examined the impact of the trucking environment on obesity. The study used a quantitative research design and data were collected through a national online survey. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample. The final sample size analyzed consisted of 105 adult men and women. The findings of the research questions were that the source of food for truckers impacted obesity. Truckers who got their food from truck stops and restaurants had a higher incidence of obesity than those who got their food from grocery stores. In addition, those truckers who consumed most or all of their meals/food on the road had higher levels of obesity than those who consumed most or all of their meals in a home environment. In this study, gender was a compelling variable, as women had twice the rate of obesity as men; however, there were more women than men who participated in the study. Limitations included small sample size, unequal gender distribution, and limited ability to advertise the study. Helping the trucking industry understand what contributes to obesity could be the key to creating positive social change through health policy development and implementation. This in turn has the potential to create a healthier workforce in the trucking industry.

Healthy eating in childhood and adolescence is important for proper growth and development and to help prevent chronic diseases. Many factors contribute to healthy eating patterns, and one of the most influential factors is the home and school environment. Both settings have role models who may affect a child’s eating behaviors. This study consisted of 54 home school and 21 public school participants who lived in northeast Mississippi and were between 6-12 years old. Public school children consumed significantly more total calories, net carbohydrates, vitamin C, and calcium compared to the home school children. Also, the public school children consumed more calories in the form of carbohydrates after 3pm compared to home school children. Nevertheless, there was no difference in BMI percentiles in public school and home school children 8-12 years of age. For 6 and 7-year-old children, the home school children had significantly lower BMI percentiles compared to the public school children.

The topic of this diploma thesis is based on European study: Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI). It is WHO Europe project. In the Czech Republic is this project lead by Institute of Endocrinology. The goal of this work is to determine childhood obesity prevalence and to monitor prevalence in relation to family and school environment. Obesity in children is an important health problem, accelerating throughout the world with particularly alarming trends in Europe. It causes a wide range of serious health and social consequences and increases the likelihood of morbidity in children and adults such as dyslipidaemia, hyperinsulimia, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, early atherosclerosis etc. Obesity is also strongly associated with orthopaedic problems and mental disorders, therefore, it is very important to monitor obesity prevalence in childhood. The goal of the work is to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 7-year children in the year 2010 (WHO classification and classification method of Czech republic). Another goal is to find a relation of the anthropometric data to environmental factors - identified by parents of children and representatives of schools (socioeconomic characteristics, eating habits, physical activities etc.). In this diploma thesis were measured 2594...