Health

Learn more about how the physical well-being of students and staff impact schools
This image provided by Novo Nordisk in January 2023, shows packaging for the company's Wegovy medication. The popular weight-loss drug, which has helped millions of Americans shed pounds, can now be used to reduce the risk of stroke, heart attacks and other serious cardiovascular problems in patients who are overweight or who have obesity, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday, March 8, 2024.
The federal Food and Drug Administration in December 2022 approved Wegovy, an obesity treatment, for children as young as 12. Weight-loss drugs have been a popular topic of conversation on social media and teens have been paying attention, feeding into concerns <ins data-user-label="Matt Stone" data-time="03/18/2024 9:57:35 AM" data-user-id="00000185-c5a3-d6ff-a38d-d7a32f6d0001" data-target-id="">that </ins>adolescents, particularly girls, have long had about body image.
Novo Nordisk via AP
Student Well-Being Weight-Loss Drugs Are the Talk of Social Media, and Teens Are Listening
Weight-loss drugs' popularity are feeding into the concerns that teenagers, particularly girls, have long had about body image.
Caitlynn Peetz, March 18, 2024
5 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
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Student Well-Being Opinion How Bad Journalism Encourages Bad Education Research
Favorable accounts of lackluster studies corrode the credibility of both researchers and reporters.
Rick Hess, March 11, 2024
3 min read
Woman applying "Welcome Back" sign to the school entrance
Leo Patrizi/E+/Getty Images
Student Well-Being CDC Recommends Shorter Isolation Period for COVID-19
Under the new guidance, students won't need to stay home from school for 5 days.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 1, 2024
3 min read
A high school principal displays vaping devices that were confiscated from students in such places as restrooms or hallways at the school in Massachusetts on April 10, 2018.
A high school principal displays vaping devices that were confiscated from students in such places as restrooms or hallways at the school in Massachusetts on April 10, 2018.
Steven Senne/AP
Student Well-Being Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Teens’ Tobacco and Nicotine Use?
Answer these seven questions about students’ nicotine and tobacco habits.
Caitlynn Peetz, February 29, 2024
1 min read
Conceptual image in blues: female student with diabetes wears glucose monitoring patch
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Student Well-Being Explainer More Students Are Getting Diabetes. Here's What That Means for the Classroom
More than a half million people under 20 could have the chronic health disorder by 2060, and they'll need support from schools.
Sarah D. Sparks, February 22, 2024
8 min read
Close up of a medical chart in an unrecognizable female doctor's hands as she listens to an unrecognizable young adult woman sitting on nurse's table.
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Student Well-Being Students With Health Conditions Protected Under Federal Law, Education Department Stresses
Asthma, diabetes, allergies, and gastroesophageal reflux disease may trigger student protections under civil rights law.
Evie Blad, February 20, 2024
4 min read
Tight cropped photo of white teenager in a blue shirt engaging with a cellphone in their hands.
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Student Well-Being What the Research Says Unsafe Health Claims Dominate Social Media. Health Class Can Give Students Vetting Tools
Teenagers need better tools to avoid health misinformation, a new analysis finds.
Sarah D. Sparks, February 9, 2024
3 min read
Signs are displayed at a smoke shop in Park Ridge, Ill., on Aug 14, 2023.
Signs are displayed at a smoke shop in Park Ridge, Ill., on Aug 14, 2023. Zyns are an oral nicotine pouch that are increasingly popular among teens, presenting a new challenge to schools.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
Student Well-Being A New Nicotine Challenge: What Schools Should Know About 'Zyns'
Nicotine pouches evade detection systems set up for vapes. But schools may be able to apply lessons learned from anti-tobacco efforts.
Caitlynn Peetz, January 31, 2024
5 min read
Image of eyeglasses and an eye examine chart with letters.
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Student Well-Being What the Research Says Rx for Reading Gaps: Screen All Students Early for Vision Problems
At a time when nearsightedness is on the rise, a study finds big gaps in students' access to vision screening and care.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 25, 2024
3 min read
Students in the education and community health pathway sculpt a clay model of the endocrine system at Skyline High School in Oakland, Calif., in 2017.
Students in the education and community health pathway sculpt a clay model of the endocrine system at Skyline High School in Oakland, Calif., in 2017.
Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages
Student Achievement What the Research Says What's the Secret to a Long, Healthy Life? Staying in School, a Study Finds
A 59-country analysis finds that every year of schooling extends your life.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 23, 2024
3 min read
Woman clutching knees next to prescription bottle: opioid crisis.
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being Is There a Link Between Opioids and Youth Suicides? What Educators Need to Know
The rate of suicide deaths among children has been on a mostly upward trajectory for more than a decade.
Arianna Prothero, January 22, 2024
3 min read
Illustration concept of child sad, with hands holding different sections to represent help and resources.
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Student Well-Being Teaching About Grief and Loss: One State's New Requirement for Schools
Schools can play a key role in helping students understand and process grief, experts say.
Evie Blad, January 12, 2024
5 min read
Kindergarten teacher Karen Drolet, left, works with a student at Raices Dual Language Academy, a public school in Central Falls, R.I., on Feb. 9, 2022.
Kindergarten teacher Karen Drolet, left, works with a student at Raices Dual Language Academy, in Central Falls, R.I., on Feb. 9, 2022. Mask-wearing among educators has fallen since the pandemic's beginning, but patterns differ based on the communities they teach in.
David Goldman/AP
Teaching Profession From Our Research Center Flu and COVID-19 Are Surging. Here’s How Educators Feel About Masking Now
Respiratory illnesses are on the rise. Only 3 percent of educators say they regularly wear a mask at school.
Madeline Will, January 8, 2024
4 min read
Illustration of a diverse woman on a teeter board with a clock in one hand and a compass in the other.
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Teaching Profession ‘Days Off Just Aren’t an Option’: Why Teachers Don’t Use Their Sick Days
Many say it’s more work to be absent, so it’s easier to show up sick.
Caitlynn Peetz, December 20, 2023
4 min read