The epidemic of obesity is a complicated and expensive problem that requires innovative approaches. The Surgeon General (USDHHS, 2001) identified decreasing television viewing and other sedentary behavior in children as a means of combating obesity in children and adolescents. The purpose of this project was to compare a theory-based, integrated health and physical education curriculum (intervention program), designed to reduce media use and to increase physical activity in middle school adolescents, to traditional and non-integrated health and physical education curricula (control program). Two middle schools were assigned to either intervention or traditional curriculum. Students in the intervention school (n = 59, 12.54+/-0.54 yr) received four weeks of lessons, designed by the primary investigator, in both health and physical education. Students in the control school (n = 47, 12.51+/-0.95 yr) received traditional health and physical education lessons designed by their classroom teachers. Students in the intervention school reduced their media use by 18.3% (-8.54 hours per week, t = 3.552, p= 0.001), while students in the control reduced media use by 10.3% (-4.97 hours per week, t = 1.993, p = 0.053), F = 2.574 (p = 0.112). The intervention school students increased their step counts by an average of 1782.86 (215.28, 3350.44) while students in the control school had a reduction in daily step counts of –615.49 (-2085.18, 854.21), F = 5.029 (p = 0.030). Our results suggest that a media literacy approach to health education combined with a student-centered approach to physical education can produce a reduction in media use with a subsequent increase in physical activity in middle school adolescents.Keyword(s): curriculum development, interdisciplinary, physical activity