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

The International Congress on Physical Activity (PA) and Public Health will celebrate the 10 -year anniversary of the Surgeon General's Report on PA and Health. It's hard to believe that much time has passed since its release. It is more amazing how far PA research and practice have progressed over the past decade. There has been a tremendous increase in our understanding of factors influencing PA behavior and the application of such knowledge. The conference certainly will be a celebration, but it undoubtedly will showcase how much more work remains to be accomplished. Along with all of you, the USC PRC is poised to contribute to that work. I hope to see you in Atlanta!

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

NEWS YOU CAN USE: National Trails Day; 70,000 Steps in 7 Days Walking Challenge; 101 Tips for Family Fitness Fun, PepsiCo and YMCA Partner to Fight Obesity

RESEARCH NOTES: Access to PA Facilities, PA and Overweight Patterns in Adolescents; Exercise and Dementia Risk; Journals Focus on PA

REPORTS, SURVEYS, GUIDELINES, RESOURCES: Proceedings from Whistler 2001 Conference Now Available Online

SCHOOL HEALTH AND WELLNESS: Healthy School Program Launched

PROMOTING ACTIVE COMMUNITIES: Minnesota Cities Strive to Be Fit Cities; Healthy America Initiative

UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS: 29th Annual Diabetes Conference

NATIONAL TRAILS DAY: The 14th Annual National Trails Day is Saturday, June 3, 2006. This year's slogan is "Experience Your Outdoors," encouraging Americans to get outside, get active, and experience the wonders of trails in their own communities and throughout the country. Visit American Hiking Society's web site at http://www.americanhiking.org/events/ntd/index.html for event planning and promotional ideas.

70,000 STEPS IN 7 DAYS WALKING CHALLENGE: "Steppin' Out," the National Walking Challenge, encourages local communities to get up and move by striving for 70,000 steps in seven days. The challenge will involve wearing a pedometer and tracking how many steps a day a person is achieving. The community who achieves the most steps in the seven days will receive national recognition through press releases, the Medical Fitness Association (MFA) website, and the MFA's 2006 Annual Conference in Las Vegas. Visit http://www.medicalfitness.org for more information and to register. [CDC PA Listserv 2/22/06]
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101 TIPS FOR FAMILY FITNESS FUN: The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and Walk4Life, Inc. have teamed up to remind parents that children learn by example and have suggestions for getting more physically active with their new brochure, "101 Tips for Family Fitness Fun." To receive a free copy and information about bulk rate costs or to purchase copies, call 1-800- 321-0789 or visit http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/. The stock number is 304-10322. The brochure is also available in Spanish. [CDC PA Listserv 2/14/06]
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PEPSI AND YMCA PARTNER TO FIGHT OBESITY: YMCA of the USA and PepsiCo recently announced a five-year alliance totaling $11.6 million in support to America's YMCAs through 2010. This new agreement supports YMCA Activate America, a health initiative that seeks to make healthy living a reality for millions of Americans. The alliance includes program development and marketing initiatives designed to strengthen and promote YMCAs resource for healthy living. To learn more about Activate America, go to http://www.ymca.net/activateamerica. To read the March 8th PepsiCo press release, go to http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=78265&p=IROL-newsPepsiCo2006. [Centerlines #145]
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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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RESEARCH NOTES

ACCESS TO PA FACILITIES, PA AND OVERWEIGHT IN ADOLESCENTS: Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, data for 42,857 ethnically diverse adolescents was examined to determine if disparities in access to recreational facilities effect PA and overweight patterns. Adolescents in lower socioeconomic status (SES) and high-minority neighborhoods had accessibility to fewer exercise and recreational facilities, which in turn was associated with decreased PA and increased overweight. SES disparities in PA and overweight patterns may be a result of inequality in availability of PA facilities. Gordon-Larsen, Nelson, Page, Popkin. "Inequality in the Built Environment Underlies Key Health Disparities in Physical Activity and Obesity." Pediatrics. 117:417-24, 2006.
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EXERICISE AND DEMENTIA RISK: One thousand seven hundred forty adults age 65 and older who scored above the 25th percentile on the Cognitive Ability Screening Instrument (CASI) participated in a study to determine if exercise is associated with reduced risk for dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Over 6 years, those who exercise 3 or more times per week had a reduced incidence rate of dementia (13 per 1000 persons-years) compared to those who exercise few that 3 times per week (19.7 per 1000 persons-years) suggesting exercise is associated with reduced risk of dementia. Larson, Wang, et al. "Exercise is associated with Reduced Risk for Incident Dementia among Person 65 Years of Age and Older." Ann Intern Med. 144:73-81, 2006.
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JOURNALS FOCUS ON PA: Several recently published journals have published special issues focusing on PA. Leisure Sciences (Volume 27, Number 5, October - December 2005) highlights recreation, leisure activities and active lifestyles. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (Volume 37, Issue 11, November 2005) focuses on objective monitoring of physical activity and the use of accelerometers. The Journal of the American Planning Association (Volume 72, Issue 1, Winter 2006) focuses on planning's role in building healthy communities. The Journal of Physical Activity and Health (Volume 3, Supplement 1, 2006) highlights papers presented at the 2nd Annual Active Living Research Conference in February 2005.
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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
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PROCEEDINGS FROM WHISTLER 2001 CONFERENCE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE: Presentations from CDC and Health Canada's 2001 conference, "Communicating Physical Activity and Health Messages," are now available on the Lifestyles Information Network's website. The conference was convened to consider dose-response implications for PA messages and improved strategies to promote PA and to create "activity friendly" environments. The presentations are available for downloading at. http://adp.lin.ca/resource//html/whistler/whistlertoc.htm [CDC PA-list, March 3, 2006]

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SCHOOL HEALTH AND WELLNESS

HEALTHY SCHOOL PROGRAM LAUNCHED: The Alliance for a Healthier Generation (Clinton Foundation, American Heart Association, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) is launching the Healthy School Program to help schools create environments that foster healthy lifestyles and ultimately prevent overweight and obesity among students. The program will set standards for schools, help schools meet those standards, and recognize and reward those schools that meet the standards. The program is made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Applications for the program will be available beginning July 1, 2006, at http://www.healthiergeneration.org or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1. [CDC PA Listserv 2/14/06]
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PROMOTING ACTIVE COMMUNITIES

MINNESOTA CITIES STRIVE TO BE FIT CITIES: Cities in Minnesota can apply to be designated as a Governor's Fit City by creating and maintaining a city environment supportive of active living. Cities can do various things to qualify as a Fit City, such as implement a worksite wellness policy for city employees; provide and maintain recreation areas, parks, playgrounds, and playfields; promote or sponsor a physical activity event; or build community awareness about locations, services, and organizations dedicated to fitness/physical activity. The Minnesota Dept. of Health website describes qualification criteria and the application process. Go to http://www.health.state.mn.us/fitcity/. [CenterLines Issue #142]
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HEALTHY AMERICA INITIATIVE: Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the 2005-2006 National Governors Association (NGA) Chairman, is focusing on promoting healthy lifestyles and encouraging healthy choices in homes, schools, and workplaces though an initiative called Healthy America. Several publications on the NGA's Healthy American webpage describes the obesity epidemic and it's toll on the economy and families while providing actions for state governors to take and descriptions of successful programs and case studies. Visit http://www.nga.org and click on Special Features: Healthy America.
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UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

.29th ANNUAL DIABETES CONFERENCE: CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation and Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity will convene the 2006 Annual Diabetes Conference May 16-19, 2006 in Denver, CO. This year's theme is Obesity: A Look to the Future. For more information, visit http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/conferences/index.htm.
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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
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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.

To submit an item, please e-mail Delores Pluto at dmpluto@sc.edu.

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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.

Prevention Research Center
Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina
730 Devine Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29208
803-777-4253

This publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number 5-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.