The purpose of this study was to examine middle school females' perceptions of physical activity, eating, and physical health. This research considers several key issues, including high obesity rates, girls' lack of physical activity, the decrease in physical activity during adolescence, and teenagers' failure to meet nutritional guidelines. A qualitative approach was selected to gain a deeper understanding of the significance girls place on these health behaviors and some of the factors that go into their decisions about leisure time activity and eating. Four focus groups were conducted in central North Carolina with a total of 28 girls in sixth through eighth grades. Data were analyzed with ATLAS.ti 5.2. Four themes emerged from the analysis: perceptions of health, social norms, family, and enjoyment. Recommendations are given for ways to encourage healthy diets and PA participation in adolescent girls.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NCSU/oai:NCSU:etd-04252009-122914 |
| Date | 28 July 2009 |
| Creators | Witmer, Larissa Kathryn |
| Contributors | Jason Bocarro, Karla Henderson, Myron Floyd |
| Publisher | NCSU |
| Source Sets | North Carolina State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-04252009-122914/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dis sertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to NC State University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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