Free afterschool program for at-risk African American children: findings and lessons.

A promising afterschool intervention to increase health knowledge and influence choices to reduce risks related to type II diabetes in school-aged, low-income, African American youth is described. Researchers used a community-based program called CASTLES (Communities and Students Together for Learning Enhanced Service). Repeated measures were used to test the effect of the afterschool program on exercise and nutrition.

The distribution of physical activity in an after-school friendship network.

Objective: To examine whether a child's friendship network in an afterschool program influences his/her physical activity.

Methods: Three waves of data were collected from school-aged children participating in aftercare (n = 81; mean [SD] age, 7.96 [1.