November – December 2012 | USC-PRC Notes
"Promoting Health through Physical Activity"
As you can see, we have given our Newsletter a “facelift.” The organization of the newsletter and the type of content remains identical, but we hope the new format will be more user-friendly. You can click on any of the topic headers in this email to go to the full online newsletter, bringing you directly to the descriptions of each story and links to learn more. We have also made the decision to publish the newsletter four rather than six times each year beginning in 2013. By including a few more articles in each section, I think that our coverage of each category will remain high. I hope you enjoy the last issue of our 2012 Newsletter! I welcome any feedback you have about it. The faculty, staff, and students at the USC PRC wish each of you a joyful holiday season and a Happy New Year!
Sara Wilcox, PhD,
Director
Topics in this issue
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
President Clinton Announces Launch of the Clinton Health Matters Initiative
While Sandy Recovery Continues, Signs of Hope on Two Wheels
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, American Heart Association Join Forces to Reverse Childhood Obesity Epidemic
Help, We Need More PE
Upcoming Events and Observances: January, February, March
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON:
Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Mid-course Report: Strategies to Increase Physical Activity Among Youth
Navigating MAP-21
RESEARCH NOTES:
Determinants of Childhood Adiposity: Evidence from the Australian LOOK Study
Exercise Training and Habitual Physical Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Financial Incentives to Promote Active Travel: An Evidence Review and Economic Framework
REPORTS, SURVEYS, GUIDELINES, RESOURCES:
The Shape of the Nation
The Steps to a Walkable Community Guide
PROMOTING ACTIVE COMMUNITIES:
Mayor Emanuel and Coca-Cola Announce $3 Million Grant from Coca-Cola Foundation that Will Create Jobs for Veterans
200-Mile Walking Trail Moves Closer to Completion
Effort to Improve the Health of County Residents Continues
UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS:
January, February, March
USC PREVENTION RESEARCH CENTER UPDATE:
National Physical Activity Plan Reach Extends Reach
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
Press Release: President Clinton announces launch of the Clinton Health Matters Initiative: President Clinton has partnered with GE, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, and Verizon to launch the Clinton Health Matters Initiative (CHMI). CHMI will focus on improving the health of people across the United States and the world, specifically working to on efforts to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors and preventative medicine. “Our nation’s rising tide of preventable health problems is alarming because it is ruining the quality and length of life for millions, and driving up health care costs in a way that can’t be sustained,” said President Bill Clinton, going on to identify childhood obesity as one of the primary targets of the CHMI’s efforts. Successes of the CHMI will be shared annually in January at the Health Matters conference.
[Source: Clinton Foundation]
While Sandy recovery continues, signs of hope on two wheels: In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, bicycles played a few key roles in recovery and morale boosting. On the Lower East Side of New York, volunteers generated electricity with their bikes, offering free cell phone charging and food to residents who had been without running water, electricity, or much food for days. Bicycles have also been a source of entertainment, with riding “trains” going out all over the city to provide first time bikers with a safe group to venture out in. Lastly, bicycles were an important source of transportation when roads and trains were blocked and out of commission to cars.
[Source: Recycle a Bicycle]
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, American Heart Association Join Forces to Reverse Childhood Obesity Epidemic: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ) and the American Heart Association (AHA) announced that they will partner together with the goal of reversing the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States by 2015. RWJ contributed $8 million dollars to the efforts that will build off of the existing resources of the AHA. The initiative will focus on policy changes to support physical activity and healthy eating at the local, state, and national levels. Additionally, efforts will be focused on traditionally underserved communities, including communities of color and lower-income neighborhoods.
[Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation]
"Help, we need more PE"
Dr. Thom McKenzie explains why it's so important for children to have quality physical education (PE) in school and how caring adults can support it. This entertaining YouTube video was designed especially for parents, teachers, school board members and administrators.
[Source: YouTube]
UPCOMING EVENTS AND OBSERVANCES:
JANUARY
NONE
FEBRUARY
American Heart Month
February 1-28, 2013
National Cancer Prevention Month
February 1-28, 2013
National Wise Health Consumer Month
February 1-28, 2013
National Wear Red Day
February 1, 2013
National Girls and Women in Sports Day
February 6, 2013
Trails Advocacy Week
February 9-13, 2013
MARCH
National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
March 1-31, 2013
National Kidney Month
March 1-31, 2013
National Nutrition Month
March 1-31, 2013
National Collegiate Health and Wellness Week
March 3-9, 2013
Kick Butts Day
March 21, 2013
American Diabetes Alert Day
March 26, 2013
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON:
Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Mid-course Report: Strategies to Increase Physical Activity Among Youth: The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Mid-course Report is intended to provide interim feedback on the progress of the physical activity guidelines, which were most recently updated in 2008. The target audiences for the report are policy makers, health care and public health professionals, and leaders in the settings covered in the report. The report covers five main settings: schools, preschools and childcare facilities, community, family and home, and primary care, discussing the current research and conclusions based on available evidence for the efficacy of interventions.
[Source: Health.Gov]
Navigating MAP-21: While the new federal transportation bill cut funding for some of the programs that are important to safe walking and biking advocates, Advocacy Advance has started a campaign to make sure that MAP-21 does not push back the progress that has been made for safe active transportation. Advocacy Advance and their partner organization, America Bikes Coalition, have teamed together to identify champions of active transportation safety in each state, as well as compile a number of resources for people to get involved in the campaign. More information, including details on webinars and grant opportunities is available on their website: http://www.advocacyadvance.org/map21.
[Source: Advocacy Advance]
RESEARCH NOTES:
The Determinants of Childhood Adiposity: Evidence from the Australian LOOK Study: Adding to the conversation of the relative importance of physical activity and dietary intake for weight outcomes, researchers in Australia examined data from a large sample of children ages 8, 10, and 12 years. The cross-sectional data included percent body fat (dual emission x-ray absorptiometry), physical activity (pedometers, accelerometers); and dietary intake (1 and 2-day records), and assessments of pubertal development and socioeconomic status. The findings suggest a dominant role of physical activity in body weight regulation for children, as boys and girls with higher percent body fat were less physically active, both in terms of steps per day and moderate and vigorous physical activity (both sexes p<0.001 for both measures), though fatter children did not consume more energy, fat, carbohydrate or sugar.
Telford, R.D., Cunningham, R.B., Telford, R.M., Riley, M., and Abhayaratna, W.P. (2012) Determinants of Childhood Adiposity: Evidence from the Australian LOOK Study. PLOS ONE.
Changes in leisure-time physical activity and subsequent sickness absence: A prospective cohort study among middle-aged employees: Researchers were interested to see the effects of physical activity on sickness absence in a large sample of 40-60 year old adults in Finland. Researchers collected information from participants at two time points, baseline (2000-2002) and follow up (2007), including questions about their sickness absence from work and their level of leisure-time physical activity. The findings indicate that vigorous physical activity has an impact on the amount of sick leave taken by employees: people who were consistently vigorously active had the lowest risk of missing work, followed by those who began exercising at a vigorous level during the study, and those with the highest risk of sickness absence were those people who were consistently inactive.
Lahti, J., Lahelma, E., Rahkonen, O. (2012) Changes in leisure-time physical activity and subsequent sickness absence: A prospective cohort study among middle-aged employees. Prev Med.
Financial Incentives to Promote Active Travel: An Evidence Review and Economic Framework: A variety of financial decisions are involved in an individual’s decision to use active transportation, public transportation, or a private automobile. The researchers reviewed studies describing the impacts of financial incentives and taxes (e.g., gasoline taxes, employer-subsidized bicycles) on active travel, physical activity, and obesity levels. The authors conclude that more information is needed for policy makers to take full advantage of the health impacts of financial incentives for active transportation, but they argue that financial incentives might play a larger role in decisions to walk or bicycle than is often recognized by researchers.
Martin, A., Suhrcke, M., Ogilvie, D. (2012) Financial Incentives to Promote Active Travel: An Evidence Review and Economic Framework. Am J Prev Med.
REPORTS, SURVEYS, GUIDELINES, RESOURCES:
The Shape of the Nation: “The Shape of the Nation,” written by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education and the American Heart Association, reports on the state of physical education (PE) in all 50 states and the District of Columbia on a number of factors, including: local school wellness policy; standards, curriculum and instruction; national board certification in PE. The report was compiled in the winter of 2011-2012 through surveys with PE coordinators in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. One disappointing finding is that although about 75% of states require PE, only about 50% of those states allow students to substitute other classes for PE or otherwise do not fully mandate an amount of required PE instruction.
[Source: AAPHERD and Huffington Post]
The Steps to a Walkable Community guide : The Steps to a Walkable Community guide was created through support from the Centers of Disease Control, in partnership with Sam Schwartz Engineering and America Walks. The guide provides resources and information to help develop walkable communities, including webinars, trainings, and walkshops™ to motivate a variety of stakeholders including citizens, planners, and engineers. Users can build a plan for their own walkability efforts, including searching through listings of tactics, adding tactics to their personalized plans, and then sharing electronic copies of these plans with their teams.
[Source: WalkSteps.org]
PROMOTING ACTIVE COMMUNITIES:
Mayor Emanuel and Coca-Cola Announce $3 Million Grant from Coca-Cola Foundation that Will Create Jobs for Veterans: Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, IL announced on November 12, 2012 that he would be partnering with the Coca-Cola Foundation to bring a $3 Million grant to the city to create a Park Families Wellness Initiative in Garfield Park. The Initiative will feature nutrition and fitness classes for underserved residents, through 60 community centers, reaching an estimated 125,000 residents by the year 2016. Additionally, the project will create jobs for military veterans, through creating a military-style fitness program called “Troops for Fitness”. Michael Kelly, the Superintendent of the Chicago Park District said that “The grant from The Coca-Cola Foundation will allow us to hire some of our nation’s heroes and create exciting ways to get youth, adults and families active. It is one of many things that Chicago is doing to improve health in our neighborhoods and get people into our parks, and allows us to support national efforts like Michelle Obama’s ‘Let’s Move’ initiative. This is exactly where we hope to be in Chicago.”
[Source: City of Chicago]
200-mile walking trail moves closer to completion: Outside of Boston, construction is nearly complete on a path that was first envisioned 83 years ago, as an “outer Emerald Necklace” on the outside of Boston’s parks. Embodied in the story of the Bay Circuit Trail, are many of the plights of trail-building stories nationwide, including obstacles to secure access, provide consistent maintenance and signage, move sections of trail from public roads to undeveloped lands, and to build awareness of the tail in the public. The trail is likely three to five years from completion, and advocates hope that it will help encourage more people to get outside and be active in their neighborhoods.
[Source: Boston Globe]
Effort to improve the health of county residents continues: Members of Healthier Together–St. Croix County gathered to discuss the new plan for the Transform Wisconsin-Active Communities grant they were awarded. The grant will allow them to build programs to help provide greater access to local school facilities in order to promote physical activity for all residents. Specific programs include an effort to build K-6 after-school programs that work to increase physical activity, healthy eating and reconnection to the great outdoors.
[Source: Hudson Starr-Observer]
UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS:
JANUARY 2013
None
FEBRUARY
Twelfth Annual Partners for Smart Growth: Building Safe, Healthy and Livable Communities
February 7-9, 2013
Kansas City, MO
Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: Eleventh Annual International Comprehensive Symposium
February 14-17, 2013
Miami Beach, FL
Active Living Research Conference
February 26-28, 2013
San Diego, CA
MARCH
National Bike Summit
March 4-6, 2013
Washington, DC
ACSM’s 16th Annual Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition
March 12-15, 2013
Las Vegas, NV
Aging in America Conference
March 12-16, 2013
Chicago, IL
USC PRC UPDATES:
National Physical Activity Plan Reach Extends: The National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP), headquartered at the Prevention Research Center at The University of South Carolina, was launched in May, 2010, and its impact at the state and local level is beginning to become evident. Last year, the state of West Virginia released its state physical activity plan, using both the content of the NPAP and the process used to develop the NPAP as guides for development of their state plan. More recently, the city of San Antonio, TX released a municipal physical activity plan that is based on the NPAP.
Writer: Danielle Schoffman
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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.
This publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number U48-DP-001936 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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