Policy Influences on Physical Activity and Nutrition Behaviors

FUNDING SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

TIMELINE: Sept. 30, 2001 - Sept. 29, 2003

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Delores Pluto, PhD (USC PRC)

CO-INVESTIGATORS:
Fran C. Wheeler, PhD (USC PRC)
David E. Murday, PhD (USC Institute of Public Affairs)
Teresa E. Hill, MS, RD (SC DHEC)

The overall goal of this two-year project is to identify and describe federal, state, and local policies that influence features of the built environment related to physical activity and nutrition. Investigators will begin by working with a multi-disciplinary team and the CDC to identify and prioritize features of the built environment that may influence physical activity and nutrition and construct a framework for reviewing relevant federal, state and local policies. Members of the team will include national experts in the area of policy and physical activity and nutrition; representatives of state agencies that implement policies related to the built environment (e.g., departments of transportation, health, natural resources, recreation and education); policy specialists from the University of South Carolina and Clemson University; and Prevention Research Center staff involved in research related to policy and environment.

After selecting a local geographic region as a case study area, the team will undertake an appraisal of policies that directly or indirectly influence the built environment. Interviews will be conducted with experts to determine how well these policies are implemented and how they affect decision making in the context of the selected geographic area. Selected experts will include policy makers (e.g., county/city council members, planners), regulators (e.g., zoning officials), implementers (e.g., designers, developers), etc. in the case study area. The results of this investigation will be presented in a technical document written for public health practitioners, public health researchers, and other interested audiences. The document will summarize the policies identified at each level; the mechanisms by which they influence physical activity and nutrition behaviors; how policies are established; and how they are interpreted, implemented, or modified in practice.