UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
PREVENTION RESEARCH CENTER NOTES
“Promoting Health through Physical Activity”

As battles rage between politicians for various elected positions, we continue to wage war against physical inactivity. Having just returned from the annual Physical Activity and Public Health course for researchers and practitioners, I am comforted by the fact that there are extremely bright and energetic persons striving to determine better ways to promote physical activity. It was also an awesome experience to rub shoulders with professionals from other disciplines (e.g., city planning) who have caught the vision of active living. The course's faculty and fellows, as well as all of you, have my vote of confidence as we move forward in promoting active lifestyles and creating active communities. -- Steve

Steven P. Hooker, PhD, Director
Delores Pluto, PhD, Newsletter Editor (dmpluto@sc.edu)
http://prevention.sph.sc.edu

NEWS YOU CAN USE: America on the Move Day; ExerciseDaily!Website

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON: TEA21 Extended Again

RESEARCH NOTES: Using GIS to Assess Environmental Supports for PA; Suburban Sprawl and Your Health; Healthcare Costs Related to PA and BMI

REPORTS, SURVEYS, GUIDELINES, RESOURCES: Action for Healthy Kids Report; Preventing Childhood Obesity Report; Trails and Greenway Clearinghouse; Your Heart, Your Life Website; Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Activity

PROMOTING ACTIVE COMMUNITIES: Incentives for Healthier Development

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CAMPAIGNS: HealthierFeds Campaign; You Can! Campaign Now Enrolling Partners

UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS: National Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Conference

AMERICA ON THE MOVE DAY
America on the Move Day is November 5th. This year's theme is "Go the Extra Mile for Energy Balance." By taking the pledge to eat a little less and exercise a little more, you can win prizes and track how many people in your state have signed up. The America on the Move website features a planning kit with flyers, posters, and tip sheets about cutting calories and adding steps; and activity ideas for your workplace, club, church, school, etc. For more information and to take the pledge, visit http://www.americaonthemove.org/aomday/AOMDayLearnMore.asp
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EXERCISEDAILY! WEBSITE
ExerciseDaily! has re-launched its web site. ExerciseDaily! is a free online wellness magazine that provides research news and links on the latest discoveries in exercise, fitness, health, nutrition & wellness. To view their new site, go to www.exercisedaily.org

For a list of PA related observances and events, visit the PA links section of our website at http://prevention.sph.sc.edu/PAlinks/index.htm.
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TEA21 EXTENDED AGAIN
An 8-month extension has been passed for the Transportation Equity Act, the reauthorization TEA21 that expired in September 2003. This is the sixth extension of the surface transportation bill and may push the whole renewal off to the 109th Congress. For more details, go to http://www.nrpa.org/content/default.aspx?documentId=1539
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USING GIS TO ASSESS ENVIRONMENTAL SUPPORTS FOR PA
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) can be a valuable tool when studying the environmental supports for physical activity but there are several factors to consider when using GIS. Data acquisition and development can be time consuming and require training due to the various ways data are kept (digital version vs. hard copy). Confidentiality and obtaining permission to collect and use data are legal issues that must be considered. Data quality is affected if there is incomplete, inaccurate or missing data. Data analyses may be hindered depending on the type of data, personnel and money needed to answer the research question. Porter, Kirtland, Neet, Williams, & Ainsworth. Considerations for using a geographic information system to assess environmental supports for physical activity. Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice and Policy [serial online]. 1(4): 2004 [retrieved 9/21/04] Available from URL:
http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2004/oct/04_0047.htm
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SUBURBAN SPRAWL AND YOUR HEALTH
A cross-sectional analysis of data from Healthcare for Communities' survey of 8,600 people in 38 metropolitan areas shows suburban sprawl can have negative effects in your physical health. Taking in to account factors such as age, economic status, race, and the local environment, the rates of chronic disease were higher in the suburbs than in the city. Lack of PA, constraints to PA (sidewalks, busy streets, etc.), increased use of cars, and increased air pollution are factors that may explain the higher occurrence of many chronic diseases, such as arthritis, heart disease, hypertension and migraine headaches in suburban areas. Sturm & Cohen. Suburban sprawl and physical and mental health. Public Health, 118: 488-496, 2004.
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HEALTH CARE COSTS RELATED TO PA AND BMI
To examine health care costs' relationship to physical activity and body mass index (BMI), active employees (n = 23,490) were grouped into one of three weight groups: normal, overweight and obese. Lack of physical activity and high BMI were both associated with higher health care costs. Sedentary employees paid $285 and $221 more for health care than moderately active and very active employees respectively. Sedentary, obese employees paid $499 more than moderately active, obese employees. It is estimated that if employees in the sedentary obese group participated in physical activity 1 to 2 times per week, maximum health care savings would be $790,326 per year. Wang, McDonald, Champagne, Edington. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine;46(5):428-36, 2004.
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For additional summaries of recent research on promoting physically active lifestyles, visit the Research Updates section of our website at http://prevention.sph.sc.edu/updates/index.htm

ACTION FOR HEALTHY KIDS REPORT
Action For Healthy Kids has released a special report, "The Learning Connection: The Value of Improving Nutrition and Physical Activity in Our Schools." The report discusses the rise of overweight and inactive children, the academic and financial costs to our schools, and how schools undermine themselves by selling competitive foods and reducing time for PA. This report serves as a call to action to school leaders to make changes to improve nutrition and PA. To view the full report, executive summary, and fact sheets, visit www.actionforhealthykids.org and click on Special Reports.
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PREVENTING CHILDHOOD OBESITY REPORT
The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies has published "Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance," a report of the findings, recommendations and action plan of the IOM Committee on Prevention of Obesity in Children and Youth. The action plan lays out goals and recommendations for obesity prevention, promoting healthy weight and making and sustaining lifestyle changes. The IOM website includes a free downloadable report overview and fact sheets as well as information about purchasing the report. Go to http://www.iom.edu/report.asp?id=22596
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TRAILS AND GREENWAYS CLEARINGHOUSE: The Trails and Greenways Clearinghouse, a project of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, provides free technical assistance, information resources, and referrals to trail and greenway advocates and developers across the nation. The website is loaded with online manuals, reports, case studies covering advocacy, acquisition, legal issues, funding, design and more for individuals, government agencies, communities, grassroots organizations and anyone else who is seeking to create or manage trails and greenways. Go to http://www.trailsandgreenways.org/
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YOUR HEART, YOUR LIFE WEBSITE
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Your Heart, Your Life website is now live. Join Angela, a virtual lay health educator, as she teaches website visitors how they can reduce their risk of heart disease with physical activity. Free downloadable handouts, picture cards, session outlines, etc. are available for lay and professional health educators. The website, in English or Spanish, targets Latinos but can be used by a wide audience. Visit http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/salud/pa/index.htm
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PENNSYLVANIA ADVOCATES FOR NUTRITION AND ACTIVITY
Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Activity (PANA), supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health through a grant for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, works to promote healthy and active communities in Pennsylvania. Their website is full of the latest resources for parents, schools and communities; information about campaigns in Pennsylvania; news articles; and a monthly newsletter. Most notable is the resource library that includes numerous reports and resources about promoting active communities, land use, transportation, parks and trails. Visit http://www.panaonline.org
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INCENTIVES FOR HEALTHIER DEVELOPMENT
Developers are more likely to add public health amenities such as no smoking buildings, pathways, attractive stairwells, etc. in exchange for incentives, says a study funded by the Tobacco Prevention Program of Public Health-Seattle and King County and conducted by a collaboration between Public Health-Seattle and King County, Group Health Community Foundation, and the University of Washington's Department of Urban Design and Planning and School of Public Health and Community Medicine. Developers were most interested in 1) allowing increases in density, 2) flexibility in parking arrangements, and 3) streamlining the permit process. To read the report, visit http://www.ghcfoundation.org
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HEALTHIER FEDS CAMPAIGN
The US Government Federal Office of Personnel Management kicked off its HealthierFeds campaign on October 4, 2004. The objective of the 8-week campaign is to educate federal employees and retirees about how to take responsibility of their health and, ultimately, reduce health care costs and demand on the health-care system. The campaign website features information about physical activity, nutrition and disease prevention, nutrition guide, BMI calculators, and activity tips. Visit the website at http://www.opm.gov/healthierfeds/
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YOU CAN! CAMPAIGN NOW ENROLLING PARTNERS
On September 1st, the Administration on Aging began enrolling organizations as partners to the "You Can! Steps to Healthier Aging" campaign, the aging component of the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Steps to a HealthierUS Initiative. Organizations that join the campaign agree to advise their communities about the importance of choosing healthier lifestyle behaviors; offer older adults opportunities to learn more about increasing physical activity and improving nutrition; and seek ways to implement nutrition and physical activity programs and activities for older adults. After enrolling in the campaign, participating groups will receive a toolkit and recognition, plus access to a partners-only website, which offers networking opportunities and online tools and information for conducting and publicizing community outreach activities. To enroll your organization, visit www.aoa.gov/youcan [ICAA press release, 09/14/04]
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UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

NATIONAL CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL
The 19th National Conference on Chronic Disease Prevention and Control will be held March 1-3, 2005 at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, Georgia. This years theme is Health Disparities: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities: Accelerating the rate of progress in improving lives. This conference will focus on efforts to eliminate disparities and will explore more rigorous approaches for accomplishing the Healthy People 2010 objectives. Online Registration will be available on October 29th, 2004. For more information visit http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/conference/index.htm or call 770-488-5131.
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For a more complete list of conferences and workshops, visit the PA links section of our website at http://prevention.sph.sc.edu/PAlinks/index.htm

This and past issues of the "University of South Carolina Prevention Research Center Notes" are available on our website at http://prevention.sph.sc.edu/newsletter/index.htm#_Subscribe. To submit an item, please e-mail Delores Pluto at dmpluto@sc.edu.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, e-mail the Prevention Research Center at uscprc@gwm.sc.edu. When subscribing, please include your name, e-mail address, title, and organizational affiliation. There is no subscription cost. If you have an e-mail filter in place that only allows messages from approved email addresses, please add uscprc@gwm.sc.edu to your approved list.

For continuing discussions about physical activity, join the Physical Activity and Public Health On-Line Network listserv. Instructions are located on our website, at http://prevention.sph.sc.edu/newsletter/commands.htm

The USC Prevention Research Center is a member of the CDC Prevention Research Center's National Network, consisting of 28 Centers in the U.S. For more information about the PRC National Network, visit http://www.cdc.gov/prc.

This publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number 1-U48-DP-000051 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC.