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

I have benefited tremendously from utilizing the USC PRC Listserv twice in the past several months (if you are not a subscriber, directions on joining the Listserv are provided at the end of the newsletter). This list reaches over 1,200 persons throughout the world that have expertise in many facets of physical activity research and practice. Each time that I have approached members of the Listserv with a question, I have received timely advice and information that has helped me make well-informed decisions. Many times the information I received hadn't yet been disseminated because it was "hot off the press." This was very gratifying and extremely helpful. I would encourage you to utilize this resource often. After all, we're all in this together!

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

NEWS YOU CAN USE: New "Eat Smart. Play Hard." Web Pages

RESEARCH NOTES: Neighborhood PA Questionnaire; Why Canadians Cycle More Than Americans; Evaluation of Physical Activity Programs

REPORTS, SURVEYS, GUIDELINES, RESOURCES: New Guidelines for PA in Schools; Public Health and Built Environment; Community Guide PA Recommendations

PROMOTING ACTIVE COMMUNITIES: Building Healthy Communities for Older Adults

UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS: NCBW Announces Round VI of Walkable Community Workshops; Active Aging 2006

NEW "EAT SMART. PLAY HARD." WEB PAGES: The USDA Food and Nutrition Service launched two new web pages that will help kids, parents, and caregivers put the new Dietary Guidelines and My Pyramid recommendations into action. The "Eat Smart. Play Hard." kids' web page (http://www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhardkids) provides kids with interactive learning and skill-building experiences in a virtual community setting, and encourages and motivates them to make better lifestyle choices using kid-friendly, entertaining techniques. The new Healthy Lifestyle web page (http://www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhardhealthylifestyle) provides parents and other caregivers with tools for healthy living including low cost menus and recipes that meet the new dietary guidelines. [SCCOPE News and Updates, 9/21/06]
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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

NEIGHBORHOOD PA QUESTONNAIRE: The Neighborhood Physical Activity Questionnaire (NPAQ) was designed to differentiate between recreation and transport walking both inside and outside of the neighborhood and to establish an overall index of physical activity behavior. The NPAQ was designed to overcome three specific challenges: the instrument had to 1) capture walking levels locally, 2) be a stable measure of habitual exercise and 3) differentiate between recreational and transport walking. The NPAQ was modeled on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the Active Australia Survey. A sample of 82 faculty and staff from local universities participated in a test-retest reliability study. The study concluded that the NPAQ is reliable for studies on environmental correlates of walking within the neighborhood. The tool reliably measures walking and total PA and can differentiate between recreation and transportation related walking inside and outside the neighborhood. Giles-Corti B, Temperio A, Cutt H, Pikora T, et al. Development of a reliable measure of walking within and outside the local neighborhood: RESIDE's Neighborhood Physical Activity Questionnaire. Preventive Medicine, 42(1):455-459, 2006.
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WHY CANADIANS CYCLE MORE THAN AMERICANS: A review of bike usage in Canada and the U.S. revealed Canadians ride bicycles more than Americans due to land-use and transport policy differences. Canadians have shorter average trip distances than Americans due to denser, mixed-land use in Canadian cities. In addition, Canadians own fewer cars than Americans as Canadians' average incomes are lower than Americans, and the cost of purchasing and operating a car is higher in Canada. Furthermore, Canadians cities are more conducive to cycling due to accessible bike paths and lanes, sufficient bicycle parking, traffic calmed neighborhoods, and stricter enforcement of traffic regulations. However, cycling remains marginal in both the U.S and Canada compared to Western Europe. Additional bike paths and lanes, bike parking, and cycling education and promotional programs are suggested to further increase bike use in the U.S. and in Canada. Pucher J & Buehler R. Why Canadians cycle more than Americans: A comparative analysis of bicycling trends and policies. Transport Policy, 13: 265-279, 2006.
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EVALUATION OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PROGRAMS: The August 6 issue of Evaluation and Program Planning (Volume 29, Issue 3) was just released, which contains a special section devoted to the evaluation of physical activity programs. Nine papers are included with topics including evaluation of programs designed for older adults and underserved youth; programs to increase walking; programs targeting individual, organization and policy change; and programs implemented at the community, state and national level. As such, the papers should be of keen interest to both researchers and practitioners. The table of contents and abstracts may be found at http://preview.tinyurl.com/2c9rur.
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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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REPORTS, SURVEYS, GUIDELINES, RESOURCES

NEW PA GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOLS: In the September 12, 2006 issue of Circulation, a scientific statement from the American Heart Association takes a comprehensive look at the role of schools in promoting physical activity among students. Policy and practice recommendations are included for physical education and other sources of daily physical activity. See the press release (which includes a summary of the recommendations) at: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3041345. The citation for the scientific statement is: Pate RR, Davis MG, Robinson TN, Stone EJ, et al. Promoting physical activity in children and youth: A leadership role for schools: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism (Physical Activity Committee) in collaboration with the Councils on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young and Cardiovascular Nursing. Circulation, 114(11);1214-1224, 2006.
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PUBLIC HEALTH AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT: A report entitled "Understanding the Relationship between Public Health and the Built Environment" presents a comprehensive picture of the elements of the built environment that have the greatest positive impact on these public health outcomes based on research. The report focuses on five public health topics - respiratory and cardiovascular health, fatal and non-fatal injuries, physical activity, social capital and mental health. One chapter focuses on physical activity and the relationship between the built environment and rates of walking, cycling and mass transit. The report was prepared for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to help prepare of a rating system for neighborhoods called LEED-ND (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development). The report can be downloaded at:
http://www.cnu.org/node/105. [SCCOPE News and Updates, 9/21/06]
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COMMUNITY GUIDE PA RECOMMENDATIONS: Three new summary sheets have been added to the website for The Guide to Community Preventive Services about policy and environmental approaches to promoting physical activity (http://www.thecommunityguide.org/pa/default.htm). These documents summarize the findings concerning street-scale and community scale urban design and land use policies and practices and transportation and travel policies and practices. A detailed report on the evidence and findings appears in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 3(Suppl 1):S55-S76, 2006.
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PROMOTING ACTIVE COMMUNITIES

BUILDING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES FOR OLDER ADULTS: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with partner organizations across the country, is developing a national pilot program called "Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging," to recognize communities that factor into community planning, environmental considerations and the need for older adults to be physically active. The goal of the program is to raise awareness about the importance of linking Smart Growth with the need for and desire by older adults to be physically active. For more information about the program, go to http://www.epa.gov/aging/bhc/.
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UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

NCBW ANNOUNCES ROUND VI OF WALKABLE COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS: The National Center for Bicycling & Walking has announced that applications are now available for the Spring/Summer 2007 round of Walkable Community Workshops (WCWs). Applications are due by October 27th. More information about the workshops and a downloadable application can be found at:
http://www.bikewalk.org/workshopapplication.php. Direct questions about the WCW program or the application to Mark Plotz at mark@bikewalk.org, or call him at (301) 656-4220.
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ACTIVE AGING 2006: The 4th Annual ICAA Conference: Active Aging 2006 will be held November 15-17, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada. For conference brochure and more information, go to http://www.icaa.cc/convention.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 33 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
921 Assembly Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29208
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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.

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