Center for Civic Partnerships

Physical Activity

Top Tips

Across the nation, people are beginning to emphasize physical activity as a way to prevent chronic disease, improve mental health, increase fitness and shed excess pounds. These actions are in part a response to the growing epidemic of obesity and overweight among Americans that contributes to approximately 300,000 deaths annually. The total costs of obesity in the U.S. in 2000 were approximately $117 billion, including healthcare, lost productivity and lost wages (LA County Task Force on Children and Youth Physical Fitness).

Since people spend so much time in community settings, these environments have a critical role to play in encouraging physical activity. All too often, our physical environment, social norms and policies in workplaces and schools do not support an active lifestyle. For example, there may be a lack of open space or adequate public facilities such as parks and playground equipment or neighborhood safety issues that prevent people from exercising outdoors. There are many ways communities can foster active lifestyles: forming walking clubs, promoting alternative modes of transportation such as biking or developing new recreational opportunities in safe environments, just to name a few. Below are some ideas and resources to help you begin in your community.

Create neighborhood changes that support physical activity – such as adding bike lanes, recreation trails, sidewalks, or lighting.
Work with schools to increase the amount of time students spend in physical education and activity. Co-sponsor a “Walk to School” day or week that is combined with health, fitness or neighborhood safety themes.
Provide information that will motivate and enable people to change their behavior in ways that are easy to incorporate into everyday life. For example, motivational signs placed by elevators that encourage people to use the stairs.
Form partnerships with diverse stakeholders to develop effective, community-based physical activity strategies. Engage residents from the beginning and build on existing successful programs. Some potential partners might include alternative transportation advocates, hiking and recreation associations, health advocates and professionals, pediatricians, educators, sport businesses and elected officials.
Launch a community-wide campaign that delivers messages about physical activity through media (television, radio, newspapers and even trailers at movie theatres), community events, schools, worksites and other community locations. As part of a hiking and walking trail awareness campaign in Chino Hills, CA, a Healthy Cities coalition mapped local trails and mailed a brochure to every city resident to encourage physical activity.
Educate the community about recommended levels of physical activity and the many activities that “count” as physical activity (e.g., gardening, housework, or walking to the store).
Advocate for local and state level policies that support physical activity and active lifestyles in schools, the community and the workplace.

Online Tools and Resources

Active Living By Design
www.activelivingbydesign.org
A national program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation will award grants of up to $200,000 over five years to 25 qualifying community-oriented partnerships. These partnerships will develop and implement strategies that increase opportunities for and remove barriers to routine physical activity, especially among low-income Americans. The site offers links to listservs, e-newsletters and fact sheets and publications, policy briefs, and research reports from a variety of disciplines such as urban planning and design, public health, community development, transportation, and parks and recreation; downloadable presentations on concepts related to Active Living by Design; and a collection of toolkits to aid in planning.

American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD)
www.aahperd.org/
American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) is the largest organization of professionals supporting and assisting those involved in physical education, leisure, fitness, dance, health promotion, and education and all specialties related to achieving a healthy lifestyle. The site features a legislative action center, descriptions of physical activity programs, an events calendar, links to related web sites and information on membership and AAHPERD’s annual convention.

California Physical Activity and Health Initiative (PAHI)
http://nurseweb.ucsf.edu/iha/pahi.htm
Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services and in partnership with the University of California, San Francisco, Institute for Health & Aging, the Physical Activity and Health Initiative (PAHI) seeks to increase the proportion of older Californians who engage in regular physical activity; increase physical activity in the workplace; and increase community and neighborhood policies and environments that encourage and support walking and biking. The website includes statistics and information about programs and policies to meet these goals.

FitLife
http://www.fitlife.com
Family centered physical activity, health promotion, nutritian, wieght control, safty.

Guildlines for School and Community Programs to
Promote Lifelong Physical Activity Among Young People
http://wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/prevguid/m0046823/m0046823.asp

Lessons Plans Page
http://www.coe.missouri.edu/~kyle/edu.htm
100 elementary school lessons plans are provided at this site.

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Nutrition and Physical Activity
www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/index.htm
Visit this Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sponsored site for research and programs related to physical activity. You’ll find guidebooks and materials to implement programs such as the Kids Walk-to-School Program as well as information on CDC-sponsored initiatives such as Active Community Environments (ACEs) which promotes walking, bicycling and the development of accessible recreation facilities. The site also includes a variety of reports that detail statistics, trends and program outcomes related to physical activity. There also is a state-based physical activity program directory as well as interactive health statistics for states.

National Center on Physical Activity and Disability
www.ncpad.org/
This site includes current research, monographs, resource directories, an event calendar, news and information on inclusion. You can also download fact sheets, media presentations and a survey on physical activity and disabilities. The site also hosts a monthly email newsletter.

National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity
www.ncppa.org/about.asp
The National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity's mission is to unite the strengths of public, private, and industry efforts into collaborative partnerships that inspire and empower all Americans to lead more physically active lifestyles. Check out their Policy Resource Guide at http://www.ncppa.org/tableofcontents.asp for ideas about how to incorporate physical activity into after school programs, community design and other community programs. Includes information about policy initiatives around the nation.

President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
www.fitness.gov/
This site features a number of Surgeon General reports on physical activity, the Nolan Ryan Fitness Guide and other resources to create personal exercise plans tailored for children as well as older adults. You also will find information on the President’s Challenge (for students) and President’s Sports Award programs.

Shape-Up America
www.shapeup.org
Founded by former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, this nonprofit organization seeks to educate the public on the importance of maintaining a healthy body weight by increasing physical activity and healthy eating. Includes fitness guides with tips for eating healthy and exercising when pressed for time, resource directories and resources for professionals. A $10 monthly fee provides access to “members only” sections of the site such as the fitness assessment center.

Unversity of Pittsburgh
http://www.pitt.edu
Resources, news and research findings.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration
www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/obesity.html
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has developed a new Website to help address the epidemic of obesity in America.

Suggested Reading

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Centers for Disease Control. (June 2002). Physical Activity and Older Americans: Benefits and Strategies.
www.ahrq.gov/ppip/activity.htm

Alcalay, R. and Bell, R. (2000). Promoting Nutrition and Physical Activity Through Social Marketing: Current Practices and Recommendations. Center for Advanced Studies in Nutrition and Social Marketing. Davis, CA: University of California
http://socialmarketing-nutrition.ucdavis.edu/Downloads/AlcalayBell.pdf
Guidelines to Promote Lifelong Physical Activity. (October 2002). National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Adolescent and School Health.
www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/healthtopics/physical_activity/guidelines/

Improving the Nutrition and Physical Activity Environment in California. Prevention Institute
www.preventioninstitute.org/nutrition_PA.html

The Los Angeles County Task Force on Children and Youth Physical Fitness. (2002). Paving the Way for Physically Fit and Healthy Children. Full report available at: http://lapublichealth.org/mch/reports/Board%20ReportFinal.pdf

Montgomery, Stephanie, M.S., CTRS and Kazin, Alayne, M.A., CTRS. (October 2002). Providing Inclusive Recreation Opportunities: The Cincinnati Model.
www.ncpad.org/whtpprs/cincinnatimodel.htm

Promoting Physical Activity: A Guide for Community Action. (1999). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity. To obtain a copy of this publication, you may contact: Human Kinetics, P.O. Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61825-5076, Phone: (800) 747 - 4457 or (217) 351 – 5076. Also available at www.amazon.com

Summerfield, Liane M. (April 2000). Promoting Physical Activity and Exercise among Children. ERIC Digest. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education.
www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content4/promote.phyed.html

Task Force on Community Preventive Services. (2002). Recommendations to Increase Physical Activity in Communities. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Vol. 22 No 4S, pp. 67-72.
www.thecommunityguide.org/pa/pa-ajpm-recs.pdf

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2002). Physical Activity Evaluation Handbook. Atlanta: GA. www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/handbook/pdf/handbook.pdf