Now's the time to practice your searching skills....

Complete the questions below and email your answers to the librarian assigned to your class before the date you were given.

The general focus for these practice questions is on obesity among adolescents. Is there really an epidemic? What can be done to help adolescents who are overweight? What role should schools play in combating the so-called obesity pandemic? What role does advertising play in this issue?

  1. Start with background information by locating a textbook, print or electronic, which discusses adolescent health and weight. Can you define obesity? Can you identify two conditions for which obese adolescents are at risk? Provide the full citation for the book and tell us how and where you located it.
  2. Now find some statistics on overweight adults in Maryland and the District of Columbia. How do adults in the District of Columbia compare to their peers across the country? Locate one program that works to fight obesity in Virginia schools. Explain why you think the sources you found are high quality. Again provide the full citations and tell us how you found your sources!
  3. Does the American Academy of Pediatrics have a position statement on obesity in children? Provide your source and how you found the answer to this question.
  4. Conduct a search in MEDLINE, CINAHL, or PsycInfo to locate current articles on helping teens successfully fight obesity. Identify 10 current articles in English. Post these references and tell us how and where you found them. Were you able to link to the full-text of any of these articles?
  5. Select a database which covers the news and policy issues. Identify one article from the popular press reporting on the obesity epidemic. In your opinion, is it balanced or sensationalized? Does the article reflect the current scientific viewpoint as reflected in the information you found above? Provide your source and where you found it!
  6. Provide some overall impressions of the search process. Which sources were easiest to use? Which sources provided the most solid information? Which sources do you plan to use in the future? Do you currently have a solid starting point for writing a health policy paper on the prevention of obesity in adolescents?

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