APHA PA Special Interest Group (SPIG). We are working to provide a visible and credible “home” for those with a primary interest in PA science, practice, and policy. To be formally recognized by APHA, we must recruit at least 100 new members who will select the PA SPIG as their primary affiliation. We invite you to join us in our efforts to elevate PA as a priority within APHA, and to provide PA professionals with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to address sedentary behavior and its detrimental consequences. We also call on persons from diverse disciplines (e.g., physical education/kinesiology, transportation, land use planning, commercial fitness industry, medicine, nursing, clinical exercise physiology, and athletic training) to take this opportunity to align their interests and efforts with those from the public health arena. If you are willing to commit to becoming either a professional or student member of APHA and the PA SPIG, click on the followiong link to access the membership commitment form: http://prevention.sph.sc.edu/SPIGform.pdf. Simply download the form, sign and date it, and fax it to Dr. Justin Moore at (252) 744-4008.

Physical Activity and Strokes. In a February 21, 2008 presentation at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in New Orleans, LA, Dr. Stephen Hooker, Director of the USC Prevention Research Center, noted that there may be a significant independent association between cardiorespiratory (aerobic) fitness and fatal and nonfatal stroke in men and nonfatal stroke in women.  Arnold School researchers analyzed data on more than 60,000 people who participated in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study between 1970 and 2001 at the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas.  Read more about Dr. Hooker’s presentation at http://sph.sc.edu/news/cardiofitness.htm

Accepting Applications for PhysicalL Activity and Public Health (PAPH) Cources (US): The CDC and the USC PRC will sponsor an 8-day postgraduate course on Research Directions and Strategies, and a 6-day Practitioner's Course on Community Intervention, in Park City, Utah, September 16-24, 2008. The goal: to give more researchers and practitioners expertise in the relationship between physical activity and health. Approximately twenty-five fellows will be accepted for each course. Acceptance criteria include professional credentials, experience, and potential to enhance public health research and practice. PAPH courses received the 2004 CDC PRC Award for Excellence in Training and Technical Assistance. Details: http://prevention.sph.sc.edu/seapines/

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