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

If you haven't heard, there's an effort to develop a Physical Activity Special Interest Group (PA SIG) within the American Public Health Association (APHA). I view this as a significant endeavor in forging the connection between science and practice. I strongly encourage you to consider submitting an abstract to this year's APHA meeting in November in Washington, D.C. We need a good showing to make our case in forming the PA SIG (and eventually, an independent PA Section). Specific calls for PA abstracts can be found within the Food and Nutrition, Gerontological Health, Health Education and Promotion, and School Health Sections. There has been a wonderful response from persons interested in reviewing PA abstracts. Now, it's up to all of us to give them something to review! Go to http://www.apha.org/meetings/sessions/ for more info. Submission deadlines range from Feb. 5-9. I look forward to your "active" response to this opportunity.

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

NEWS YOU CAN USE: WALK21 2007 Call for Papers; Sign- up for SRTS Email Alerts

RESEARCH NOTES: 10,000 Steps per Day Intervention; Scale to Assess PA in College Students

REPORTS, SURVEYS, GUIDELINES, RESOURCES: Obesity Program for Children; ICAA Welcome Back to Fitness Toolkit

PROMOTING SMART GROWTH: Promoting Public Health through Smart Growth Report; Smart Growth Illustrated; Neighborhood Density Presentations Available

UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS: International Conference on Physical Activity and Obesity in Children; National Bike Summit

WALK21 2007 CALL FOR PAPERS: Papers, presenters and workshop proposals are now being sought for Walk21 Toronto that can provide insight, guidance and support within each of the conference themes, from the local to the international level. The deadline to submit is Friday, March 23, 2007. Call for papers information can be found at http://www.walk21.com.
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SIGN UP FOR SRTS EMAIL ALERTS: The National Center for Safe Routes to School has added an email alerts sign-up feature on its Web site. By signing up for the feature, subscribers will receive periodic updates from the Center, including news releases and Safe Routes Matters, the Center's electronic newsletter. To subscribe, please visit http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/signup.
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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

10,000 STEPS PER DAY INTERVENTION: An intervention was designed to study the effects of a 10,000 step per day goal on body weight, body composition, resting blood pressure, and fasting lipid profile among overweight and obese adults between 30 to 60 years of age. Fifty-six participants were selected by a telephone interview to start the intervention. Of these original 56, 38 (68%) participated for the duration of the study and 19 (50%) of the participants adhered to the 10,000 step per day goal for the 36 week duration of the intervention. For those who completed the intervention, significant improvements were observed for mean values of steps per day, body weight, BMI, percentage body fat, fat mass, waist and hip circumference, and HDL-C. For those who completed the intervention but did not adhere to the 10,000 step per day goal, little or no change was observed for these criteria except that they increased their baseline physical activity levels by about 2500 steps per day. Schneider, Bassett, Thompson, et al. "Effects of a 10,000 Steps per Day Goal in Overweight Adults." American Journal of Health Promotion, 21(2), 85-89, 2006.
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SCALE TO ASSESS PA IN COLLEGE STUDENTS: The newly developed Physical Activity Benefits and Barriers Scale (PABBS) was assessed to determine its effectiveness as a measure of benefits and barriers to physical activity among college students. In phase one of the study, exploratory interviews were conducted with the college students. In phase two, 275 college students filled out the PABBS and a physical activity measure. They were also interviewed about additional perceived benefits and barriers. In the third phase, 25 students took the PABBS on two occasions, one week apart. Factor analysis revealed five benefit and four barrier factors that were related with strenuous physical activity. Low Motivation accounted for most of the variance (36%) in strenuous physical activity, followed by Time Constraints (17%). The PABBS showed acceptable psychometric properties and was moderately associated with strenuous physical activity among college students, suggesting it is an efficacious measure of benefits and barriers to physical activity among college students. Brown, Huber, Bergman. "A Perceived Benefits and Barriers Scale for Strenuous Physical Activity in College Students." American Journal of Health Promotion, 21(2), 137-140, 2006.
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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

OBESITY PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN: Rollie Robin is an obesity awareness and prevention program designed to encourage physical activities and healthy food choices among children in preschool to 3rd grade. Children help Rollie, a bird who cannot fly, by setting examples for him. They record their improved eating and enhanced physical activities in a journal and are rewarded with stickers and visual charting of their success. Visit http://www.rollierobin.com/ for more information.
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ICAA WELCOME BACK TO FITNESS TOOLKIT: The International Council on Active Aging's Welcome Back to Fitness toolkit is designed to help older adults get back into a fitness regime, whether at home, at a club, with a personal trainer or on their own. The toolkit is available on the ICAA website and features topics such how to get started, age friendly equipment and physical activities, what look for in a trainer and questions to ask your doctor before getting started. An age-friendly fitness and wellness facilities locator (in United States and Canada) is also available. Go to http://www.icaa.cc/welcomeback.htm to view the toolkit.
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PROMOTING SMART GROWTH

PROMOTING PUBLIC HEALTH THROUGH SMART GROWTH REPORT: Smart Growth BC has prepared a report to explain how the built environment influences our transportation choices and health. "Promoting Public Health through Smart Growth" reviews the existing research for a range of transportation-related health impacts on seven public health outcomes: Physical Activity and Obesity, Air Quality, Traffic Safety, Noise, Water Quality, Mental Health, and Social Capital. To download the report, go to: http://www.smartgrowth.bc.ca/downloads/SGBC_Health%20Report%20Final.pdf [SCCOPE News & Updates 01/05/07]
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SMART GROWTH ILLUSTRATED: The US Environmental Protection Agency's Smart Growth Illustrated provides visual examples of smart growth techniques as they have been used in different places. Although every example illustrates several smart growth principles, each was chosen to illustrate one specific principle. A narrative description and photographs are provided for each case study. To view the smart growth examples, go to http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/case.htm.
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NEIGHTBORHOOD DENSITY PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE: The Urban Land Institute, the National Multi-Housing Council, and the Sierra Club have prepared PowerPoint presentations, titled "A Plan for Tomorrow: Creating Stronger and Healthier Communities Today," that show how density can transform neighborhoods and provide research to allay the conventional fears about density. Presentations and customizable scripts for both urban and suburban audiences (planning officials, neighborhood groups, chambers of commerce, etc.) are available free of charge. Go to http://www.nmhc.org/Content/ServeContent.cfm?ContentItemID=3423

to download the presentation and scripts.
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UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND OBESITY IN CHILDREN: The International Conference on Physical Activity and Obesity in Children will be held June 24-27, 2007 in Toronto, Canada. The conference aims to inform the development of a scientifically-based community strategy to reduce the incidence of childhood and youth obesity through increased sport and physical activity participation. More information about presenters, registration and abstract submission are available at http://www.obesityconference.ca.
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NATIONAL BIKE SUMMIT: The National Bike Summit will be held March 13-16 in Washington, DC. The summit is an opportunity for the bicycling community to communicate with top-level government leaders who have the power to dramatically improve bicycling in the United States. For summit and registration information, go to http://www.bikeleague.org/conferences/summit07/index.php.
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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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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 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
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.

The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in educational or employment opportunities or decisions for qualified persons on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or veteran status.