April 8, 2010

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Active Community Transportation Act of 2010 (USA)
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out an active transportation investment program to encourage a mode shift to active transportation within selected communities by providing safe and convenient options to bicycle and walk for routine travel, and for other purposes.

Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares: A Context Sensitive Approach
This report has been developed in response to widespread interest for improving both mobility choices and community character through a commitment to creating and enhancing walkable communities. Many agencies will work towards these goals using the concepts and principles in this report to ensure the users, community and other key factors are considered in the planning and design processes used to develop walkable urban thoroughfares.

Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation
The Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation is a statewide, not-for-profit, membership organization that advocates advancement of bicycling access, safety and education in Missouri.

Transport Canada - Improving Travel Options in Small and Rural Communities
This guide is intended to help practitioners—engineers, planners, health professionals, economic development officials and others—to improve travel options for residents of small and rural communities. This includes a range of actions that make personal transportation activities more sustainable— encouraging drivers to operate their cars more efficiently, or to leave their cars at home and walk, cycle, take transit or carpool instead.

Valuing Bicycling’s Economic and Health Impacts in Wisconsin
This study estimates the economic impact of bicycle recreation and tourism in Wisconsin to be $924,211,000, and the total potential value of health benefits from reducing short car trips and increasing bicycle trips to total $409,944,167. The results of this study demonstrate that bicycling has the potential to contribute substantially to the health and economic well being of Wisconsin citizens.

Walk This Way: Recognising Value in Active Health Prevention
In 2009 the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) was commissioned by Natural England to explore the opportunities and barriers to getting more people walking. The resulting report offers practical guidance and support on key components of successful walking initiatives that physical activity and health professionals can use to make the case for investment in walking.

CHILDREN

Active Healthy Kids Canada – Report Card
The Report Card is coming early this year! Look out for the Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card on April 27, 2010.

Each year, our Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth examines physical activity opportunities for kids all across Canada.

Active School Travel Project Goes Nationwide
Green Communities Canada announced [March 16] the national expansion of a project that makes it safer for students to use active transportation methods like walking and cycling to travel to and from school. Funding of $2.1 million from the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and the Public Health Agency of Canada will enable School Travel Planning (STP) to reach 120 schools, resulting in healthier, happier students and reducing the incidence of chronic disease.

Spark Together for Healthy Kids
Spark Together for Healthy Kids is the Heart and Stroke Foundation's response to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity. We're an Ontario-wide initiative helping to inspire individuals, families, communities, businesses, and government to spark collective change to help children become more physically active and eat healthier foods.

Tackling obesity through the healthy child programme: A framework for action
This document was commissioned to inform the development of the Department of Health’s (UK) work on obesity in early years. It draws on some of the existing and emerging evidence on obesity and early years and sets out key actions for practitioners to effectively support mothers and fathers in encouraging healthy nutrition and physical activity.

DISABILITY

London 2012: A legacy for disabled people
Published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), this document lays out the Government’s vision and commitment to delivering a lasting legacy for disabled people from hosting the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

OVERWEIGHT/OBESITY

Healthy Habits, Healthy Weights: A Practical Guide to Weight Management
A resource from the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation. Physical activity is mentioned 16 times in this 25 page document. It also includes a link to a physical activity log.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

BHF Exercise Referral Toolkit - now live
The toolkit is not designed as a 'blueprint' for how exercise referral schemes must be designed, implemented and evaluated; it offers some best practice principles for all those involved in the delivery, management and commissioning of exercise referral schemes. It is for individual schemes to consider whether the implementation of these principles will improve the design, delivery and effectiveness of their scheme, given the capacity and resources available.

Economic costs of physical inactivity fact sheet - UK
This fact sheet summarizes some of the key facts and figures on the disease burden of physical inactivity and the associated healthcare and economic costs.

Get Active for Life: Your guide to an active lifestyle
A resource from the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Global Advocacy for Physical Activity
GAPA aims to provide interested stakeholders with communications and resources to help the development, dissemination and implementation of national policies, programs and services that promote physical activity and health.

Joint Use of Community Resources
Joint use is a way to increase opportunities for children and adults to be more physically active. It refers to two or more entities — usually a school and a city or private organization — sharing indoor and outdoor spaces like gymnasiums, athletic fields and playgrounds. The concept is simple: share resources to keep costs down and communities healthy.

URBAN DESIGN

Healthy Urban Development Checklist: A guide for health services when commenting on development policies, plans and proposals
The purpose of the Checklist is to help build the capacity of NSW Health to provide valuable feedback to local councils, and other relevant organisations, on health issues in relation to urban development plans and proposals. It is intended that the use of the Guideline will facilitate strengthened partnerships and collaboration between NSW Health and urban planners and developers as part of NSW Health's initiatives to promote healthy communities in NSW.

Shaping Active, Healthy Communities – A Heart and Stroke Foundation Built Environment Toolkit for Change
The tool kit is a national resource, available in both French and English. Currently it can be downloaded at no cost online on the Heart and Stroke Foundation website at http://www.heartandstroke.ca/HealthyCommunities. Pending additional funding, print copies may become available.

April 1, 2010

By Rosanne Prinsen MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
Cool Pedestrian Environments: Pedestrian Mobility & Accommodation
At some point during every trip, and on most days, we are all pedestrians. Walking is the universal mode of transport, available to persons of all ages and income levels and in every geographic setting: large, small, urban, suburban, and rural. Though it is the most basic mode, providing for pedestrian safety and mobility is a complex task…. This website is a resource for pedestrian planning, design, and safety documents, and includes web links to other resources.

Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety and Mobility in Europe
Pedestrian and bicyclist deaths accounted for 14 percent of U.S. highway fatalities in 2008. The Federal Highway Administration…. sponsored a scanning study of five European countries to identify and assess effective approaches to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety and mobility.

The scan team gathered information on strategies and approaches in the areas of engineering, education, enforcement, encouragement, and evaluation. The team learned that many of the countries studied have established an urban street user hierarchy that gives the highest priority to walking, biking, and public transit.

Walking as a suspicious activity
Long Branch, N.J., police answered a call about a suspicious-looking person walking in a suburban neighborhood in a light rain. The man had stopped on the sidewalk to look at a house for sale. The officer, asked the aging pedestrian, his curly salt-and-pepper hair partly covered by a hood, his purpose in the neighborhood. 'Walking,' the man said. She asked his name. 'Bob Dylan.' She asked for identification. He had none. The officer put Dylan, 68, in the back of the squad car and took him back to a nearby hotel parking lot, where the legendary musician's tour buses were parked, so he could present valid ID..."

CHILDREN
Are children and adolescents less active if parents restrict their physical activity and active transport due to perceived risk?
Social Science & Medicine Article in Press, Corrected Proof
Alison Carver, Anna Timperio, Kylie Hesketh and David Crawford

The findings demonstrate that constrained behaviour exhibited by parents may result in lower levels of active transport and of MVPA outside school hours. In particular, this was true for children and adolescent girls. Social interventions to improve perceived safety and physical interventions involving redesign of the built environment to improve actual safety may help to ease parental restriction of their children’s active transport and physical activity in their neighbourhood.

CDC Youth Physical Activity Guidelines Toolkit
Use this new toolkit to help promote physical activity in young people.

Effect of a Two-Year Obesity Prevention Intervention on Percentile Changes in Body Mass Index and Academic Performance in Low-Income Elementary School Children
American Journal of Public Health April 2010, Vol 100, No. 4

The authors conclude: School-based interventions can improve health and academic performance among low-income schoolchildren.

Online resources for identifying evidence-based, out-of-school time programs: A users guide
Child Trends produced this Guide to assist funders, administrators, and practitioners in identifying and navigating online resources to find evidence-based programs that may be appropriate for their target populations and communities.

Understanding parental physical activity: Meanings, habits, and social role influence
Psychology of Sport and Exercise Article in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Kyra Hamilton, and Katherine M. White

Parents had clear understandings of what constitutes PA and engaged in various activities which were integrated with or independent of the children. Being active with children, however, was not always constructed favorably in which many parents described the difficulties of being active with their children.

MENTAL HEALTH
Best practice guidelines for mental health promotion programs: Older adults 55+
Note this is a “web-resource”.
This web resource is the second in a series of guides to promoting positive mental health across the lifespan. It provides health and social service providers (“practitioners”) with current evidence-based approaches in the application of mental health promotion concepts and principles for older adults and is intended to support practitioners, caregivers and others involved in developing programs in incorporating best practice approaches to mental health promotion initiatives that are directed towards older people (55 years of age and over).

OLDER ADULTS
Physical Activity Resources and Changes in Walking in a Cohort of Older Men
American Journal of Public Health April 2010, Vol 100, No. 4

We evaluated the influence of physical activity resources and neighborhood-level socioeconomic status (SES) on walking among community-dwelling older men. Uncovering reasons that proximity to parks and trails is not associated with maintenance of walking activity among men in low-SES neighborhoods could provide new insight into ways to promote physical activity.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
2009 Australia Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport, Seventh National Physical Activity Conference, Sixth National Sports Injury Prevention Conference, Be Active '09
Journal of Science and medicine in Sport Volume 12, Supplement 2

This Journal has published abstracts from the October 2009 sports medicine, sports science, sports injury, and physical activity promotion conference.

Application of the Transtheoretical model to physical activity in older adults with Type 2 diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease
Psychology of Sport and Exercise Article in Press
Alison Kirk, Freya MacMillan and Nikki Webster

Findings support the theoretical predictions of the TTM and the use of this model in older clinical populations.

Disparities in Data on Healthy People 2010 Physical Activity Objectives Collected by Accelerometry and Self-Report
American Journal of Public Health April 2010, Vol 100, No. S1

We compared findings on physical activity from national accelerometry data and Healthy People 2010 self-report data to identify differences in disparities by sociodemographic characteristics, gender, age, race/ethnicity, education level, and disability status

Dissemination of effective physical activity interventions: are we applying the evidence?
Health Education Research 2010 25(2):185-198

For physical activity researchers and practitioners, we have effective intervention approaches and analytic tools available for use, such as the Community Guide. However, it is now widely recognized that the mere existence of scientific knowledge is not sufficient to ensure effective application.

This study was undertaken to better understand the importance of studying context as a crucial step in the dissemination of physical activity interventions, focusing particularly on the evidence-based reviews in the Community Guide… One-size does not fit all as illustrated by our study. We must learn about context and capacity before attempting to actively disseminate the Guide's recommendations…..

Global Consultation on the "Toronto Charter for Physical Activity"
The consultation will close on 16th April 2010

URBAN DESIGN
The Built Environment and Location-Based Physical Activity
American Journal of Preventive Medicine Vol 38, Iss 4, April 2010, P 429-438

Findings are consistent with studies showing that certain attributes of the built environment around homes are positively related to physical activity, but in this case only when the outcome was location-based.

Fixing the Great Mistake: Autocentric Development
According to a Feb. 25th StreetFilms entry, "'Fixing the Great Mistake' is a new Streetfilms series that examines what went wrong in the early part of the 20th Century, when our cities began catering to the automobile, and how those decisions continue to affect our lives today."

"In this episode, Transportation Alternatives director Paul Steely White shows how planning for cars drastically altered Park Avenue. Watch and see what Park Avenue used to look like, how we ceded it to the automobile, and what we need to do to reclaim the street as a space where people take precedence over traffic."

Perceived characteristics of the neighborhood and its association with physical activity behavior and self-rated health
Health & Place Article in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Willibald J. Stronegger, Sylvia Titze and Pekka Oja

Results suggest that local infrastructure facilities should be designed so as to ensure accessibility by both walking and cycling.

March 19, 2010

By Rosanne Prinsen MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

Info Round Up will return on April 1, 2010

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Get Active Mississauga – Active Transportation
Lots of good info here – be sure to go to the Get Active homepage too.

CHILDREN

Effect of school based physical activity programme (KISS) on fitness and adiposity in primary schoolchildren: cluster randomised controlled trial
BMJ 2010;340:c785

Conclusion: A school based multi-component physical activity intervention including compulsory elements improved physical activity and fitness and reduced adiposity in children.

Let’s Move
Check out this new childhood obesity program in the US with the involvement of First Lady Michelle Obama.

Neighborhood determinants of self-efficacy, physical activity, and body weights among Canadian children
Health & Place Volume 16, Issue 3, May 2010, Pages 567-572

Both infrastructural investments such as in recreational facilities, sidewalks and parks, as well as health education to promote self-efficacy may increase PA and prevent overweight among children.

Physical activity and adolescents: An exploratory randomised controlled trial investigating the influence of affective and instrumental text messages
British Journal of Health Psychology

The findings suggest that for adolescent individuals who are inactive, receiving messages about affective gains from physical activity are more effective than receiving messages about the potential health benefits.

CHRONIC DISEASE

Management of Low Back Pain
The Alberta Ambassador Program has produced practice guidelines for acute and chronic low back pain which are housed on the Toward Optimized Practice web site of the Alberta Medical Association. The guidelines are available in a two page summary form as well as longer more detailed versions. There are also patient information sheets available.

Type 2 Diabetes: Poverty, Priorities and Policy: The Social Determinants of the Incidence and Management of Type 2 Diabetes
Brand new 2010 report. Physical activity is mentioned many times – including specific tables/figures. (Note: when you go to the link it may ask you to install an add on to open the document – it’s safe to do so).

HEALTHY EATING

Four translations of Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide – First Nations, Inuit and Métis
This food guide is now available in Woods Cree, Plains Cree, Ojibwe, and Inuktitut. These translations are part of a broader effort by Health Canada to provide Canada’s Food Guide in a variety of languages to better reach Canadians.

OVERWEIGHT/OBESITY

Neighborhoods and obesity in New York City
Health & Place Volume 16, Issue 3, May 2010, Pages 489-499

These findings are consistent with the growing literature showing that area income and availability of food and physical activity resources are related to obesity.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Australian sports urged to engage all cultures
An important part of involving your community in structured sport is the work that clubs and coaches do to build awareness and promote participation within all cultures. Links provide information on how to involve multicultural communities in your locality in sport and recreation.

Health Survey for England 2008: Focus on physical activity and fitness
Released February 2010. This document summarizes the key findings from the 2008 Health Survey for England concerning the physical activity levels of adults and children.

Parks, Playgrounds and Active Living
This synthesis summarizes the growing body of evidence concerning the role of parks in shaping active lifestyles across a variety of study populations, including children, seniors, lower-income families, specific racial and ethnic groups and other populations at high risk of being inactive.

Physical activity and health fact sheet
*New* from the BHF National Centre Physical Activity + Health (UK).
This updated fact sheet provides the latest evidence on how physical activity can help to prevent a range of medical conditions including cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, some cancers, hypertension and osteoporosis. This fact sheet can be used to make the case and secure funding for physical activity intervention or for professionals to increase and update their knowledge.

Program Costing Worksheets
These worksheets provide templates for determining program costs, which include staff, facilities and additional costs. There is a section for determining cost per participant and for calculating net profit or loss at the end of the program.

Urban Green Space and Public Health
Looks at the links between urban green space and public health

Using Active Living Principles to Promote Physical Activity in Rural Areas
This document is meant for community advocates, leaders, policy makers, or any other stakeholders that are interested in creating supports for active living within rural communities.

WOMEN
Physical activity, sedentary behavior and depression among disadvantaged women
Health Education Research Advance Access published online on February 9, 2010
Megan Teychenne, Kylie Ball and Jo Salmon

This study demonstrates the associations that exist between the risk of depression in women and is novel due to its large number of participants and its focus on disadvantaged neighborhoods

March 12, 2010

By Rosanne Prinsen MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ABORIGINAL
Indigenous Sport Council Alberta
ACE Communities is working with the Indigenous Sport Council (Alberta) to support the use of recreation, sports, arts, culture and heritage in Aboriginal Communities.

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
Active travel strategy
The strategy highlights plans to put walking and cycling at the heart of local transport and public health strategies over the next decade. The guiding principles for the strategy are that walking and cycling should be everyday ways of getting around – not just for their own sake but also because of what they can do to improve public health, tackle congestion, reduce carbon emissions and improve the local environment.

Journal of the Transportation Research Board - Volume 2140 / 2009
There are many, many good articles dealing with pedestrians and cyclists in this issue.

Paths for All
Paths for All is a national charity promoting walking for health and the development of multi-use path networks (Scotland).

Physical activity in the Active People Survey: Developing an indicator that includes walking and cycling for transport
This paper analyses the Sport England Active People Survey data to estimate the percentage of adults participating in moderate intensity physical activity for 30 minutes or more on at least three and five occasions per week that includes walking and cycling for transport.

Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030
Bicycling creates safer streets, reduces the causes of global climate change, promotes a healthy environment, and limits the effects and health care costs related to inactivity. It provides equity and access to viable, affordable transportation options and creates fun, vibrant, and livable neighborhoods. It supports Portland’s economy and is a sound investment. (Portland is very progressive when it comes to Active Transportation!)

CHILDREN
Change4Life one year on
This document reports on the first twelve months of the Change4Life campaign. Change4Life, which launched to the public in January 2009, is the social marketing part of the Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives cross-governmental strategy for England. In its first year, Change4Life focused on those families with children aged 5-11, who were at greatest risk of becoming overweight or obese.

Descriptive epidemiology of youth pedometer-determined physical activity: CANPLAY
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: POST ACCEPTANCE, 4 February 2010
Craig, Cora L; Cameron, Christine; Griffiths, Joseph M; Tudor-Locke, Catrine

This study demonstrates the viability of using relatively inexpensive pedometers and methods for the surveillance of young people's physical activity. The resulting descriptive data provide key information regarding the population distribution of pedometer-determined physical activity that may be useful for identifying target groups for population strategies and other interventions.

The GirlStars Program: Challenges to Recruitment and Retention in a Physical Activity and Health Education Program for Adolescent Girls Living in Public Housing
Preventing Chronic Disease Volume 7: No. 2, March 2010

Although physical inactivity is a concern for all adolescents, physical activity levels are especially low among minority adolescents and minimal among girls from low-income families. After-school programs can reduce high-risk behaviors and strengthen schools, families, and communities.

Preventing childhood obesity through lifestyle change interventions: A briefing paper for commissioners
This briefing paper aims to support commissioners by providing a brief guide to current
best available evidence on effective obesity prevention interventions for children and
young people Physical activity is mentioned 12 times in this 10 page document.

Upstart: Low Cost Recreation Space
Take advantage of this Government of Alberta rental rate subsidy that helps community groups run recreational programming for children and youth during out-of-school hours in Calgary and the Rocky View.

Using accelerometers and GPS units to identify the proportion of daily physical activity located in parks with playgrounds in New Zealand children.
Preventive Medicine Article in Press, Corrected Proof
Robin Quigg, Andrew Gray, Anthony Reeder, Alec Holt, Debra Waters

These findings, using accelerometers and GPS units to investigate the location of children’s physical activity, demonstrates that only a small percentage of children’s daily physical activity levels is carried out in parks with playgrounds. It is likely that the provision of parks alone may not be enough to increase physical activity levels in children.

CHRONIC DISEASE
A prediction of obesity trends for adults and their associated diseases
the National Heart Forum Modelling Team compare trends including the most recent data from Health Survey for England (2000- 2007) to the analysis conducted for the Foresight report for adults in three age groups. Furthermore, updated predictions for the burdens of diseases that are attributable to obesity are presented, specifically arthritis, coronary heart disease, diabetes, gall bladder disease, hypertension, stroke and the following cancers: breast, colorectal, endometrial, kidney, oesophageal and liver.

MENTAL HEALTH
Do exercise and fitness buffer against stress among Swiss police and emergency response service officers?
Psychology of Sport and Exercise - Article in Press
Markus Gerber PhD, Michael Kellmann PhD, Tim Hartmann MS and Uwe Pühse PhD

The findings indicate that exercise and fitness can help foster a healthy and thriving workforce that takes less sick leaves and feels better prepared to cope with chronic stress.

Minding our bodies: Physical activity for mental health
Minding Our Bodies is a two-year project (2008-2010). Our goal is to increase capacity within the community mental health system in Ontario to promote active living and to create new opportunities for physical activity for people with serious mental illness to support recovery.

OLDER ADULTS
Changes in leisure-time physical activity and sedentary behaviour at retirement: a prospective study in middle-aged French subjects.
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2010, 7:14

These findings highlight that retirement provides opportunities to increase physical activity, but increasing leisure-time can also lead to increased sedentary behaviour.

International Federation on Aging
The IFA believes in 'generating positive change for older people throughout the world by stimulating, collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information on rights, policies, and practices that improve the quality of life of people as they age.'

WHO Age-Friendly Environments Program
The WHO is the focal point for age friendly cities/communities/environments – this website is now operational and we invite you to go online and join The Global Network. At this time the IFA is temporarily closing its AFC website and transferring relevant information to our main site over the next few weeks. Age Friendly environments remains one of IFAs key priorities and we look forward to sharing new information from the IFA 10th Global Conference in the very near future.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Pedometer Use Among Adults at High Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, Finland, 2007-2008
Preventing Chronic Disease Volume 7: No. 2, March 2010

Sedentary adults can be motivated to use a pedometer if we inform them that regular users find it a useful instrument for increasing their level of exercise. These adults should set realistic goals for walking and receive adequate instructions for using pedometers.

Physical activity and physical health functioning among middle-aged Finnish employees
Preventive Medicine - Article in Press
Jouni Lahti, Mikko Laaksonena, Eero Lahelmaa and Ossi Rahkonena

The objective of the study was: “To examine whether physical activity contributes to physical health functioning five to seven years later among middle-aged employees.”

URBAN DESIGN
The Built Environment and Health: 11 Profiles of Neighborhood Transformation
Highlights neighborhood-level changes to the built environment that can have a positive influence on the health of community residents, especially in low-income communities. The profiles demonstrate how health practitioners, community members and many others can work together to improve community well-being by making changes to the built environment.

Community Health and the Built Environment
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then residents from North Central Edmonton have glowing stories to share about their community.

It takes more than stores to build a winning town center
According to a Feb. 28th Washington Post article, "The nation's two largest groups -- baby boomers shedding their houses as they become empty nesters and millennials reaching their 30s and moving into their own homes -- largely prefer densely populated, walkable communities, experts say." Urban planners project that 86 percent of the growth in new households will be single people or couples without children at home -- and neither group wants to live in remote suburbs or in houses surrounded by big lawns.

Ottawa Neighborhood Study
Evidence is mounting that the neighborhoods and communities in which we live affect both the health and the gap in health between rich and poor. Our aim is to better understand the physical and social pathways through which neighborhoods in Ottawa affect health.

WOMEN
Influence of habitual physical activity on body composition, fat distribution and metabolic variables in early postmenopausal women receiving hormonal therapy
European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology Article in Press
S. Lara, G. Casanova and P.M. Spritzer

Habitual physical activity plays a major role in preserving a favorable cardiovascular profile in postmenopausal patients using HRT.

February 26, 2010

By Rosanne Prinsen MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
Canadian Tax Exempt Transit and Cycling Benefits
A Cost Estimate of Proposed Amendments to the Income Tax Act to Exempt Certain Employer-Provided Transportation Benefits from Taxable Income.

Who owns the roads? How motorised traffic discourages walking and bicycling
Injury Prevention 2009; 15: 369-373
This article examines the impact of vehicle traffic on walking and bicycling activity. It indicates that real and perceived danger and discomfort imposed by traffic discourages walking and bicycling, and interventions to reduce traffic speed and volume can improve public health by increasing walking and bicycling activity.

CHILDREN
APPLE Schools: Alberta Project Promoting active Living and healthy Eating
APPLE Schools aim to make the healthy choice the easy choice by changing the school environments. The easy choice for students will be healthy lunches and snacks and an active lifestyle. We aim to create and sustain supportive physical and social environments that foster lifelong health and learning.

Child and Youth Friendly Land Use and Transport Planning: Guidelines and Literature Review.
The project began in November 2007 and is to continue until March 2010. Its main objective is to develop sets of guidelines for municipal transportation and land-use planners, one set for each of Canada’s ten provinces.

The Guidelines are being developed as tools for achieving transportation and land-use arrangements that meet the needs of children and youth — and everyone else.

Neighborhood, Route, and School Environments and Children's Active Commuting
American Journal of Preventive Medicine Vol 38, Issue 3, March 2010, Pages 268-278

Objectively measured neighborhood and route factors are associated with walking and cycling to school. However, distance did not moderate the associations found here. Creating safe environments by improving urban design may influence children's commuting behavior. Intervention studies are needed to confirm the findings from this observational cross-sectional study.

Pan-Canadian Online Survey to Determine a "Communities Perspective" on Children/Youth and their Connection with Nature
This survey will only be available online until the end of day on March 12th, 2010.
An online survey designed to seek input on strategic matters pertaining to children and youth and their perceived lack of engagement/connection with nature (the out-of-doors). The survey should take between 20-30 minutes to fully complete. The survey does not have to be completed in one session.

Programs for Children and Youth in a Community Context
Participants in a recent Child Trends Roundtable explored how evidence-based programs might be integrated into community initiatives to strengthen outcomes for children…. Insights from this Roundtable provide valuable guidance to policymakers and foundations considering investments in similar initiatives and to communities seeking to build or improve a system of services for disadvantaged children and youth.

MISCELLANEOUS
A cross-sectional study of the number and frequency of terms used to refer to knowledge translation in a body of health literature in 2006: a Tower of Babel?
The study of implementing research findings into practice is rapidly growing and has acquired many competing names (e.g., dissemination, uptake, utilization, translation) and contributing disciplines. The use of multiple terms across disciplines pose barriers to communication and progress for applying research findings. The authors of this article sought to establish an inventory of terms describing this field and how often authors use them in a collection of health literature published in 2006.

Guidance for Developers of Health Research Reporting Guidelines
A reporting guideline gives a set of recommendations regarding the information that should be included in the report of a research study. The authors of this article hope this guidance on how to develop a reporting guideline, including an 18-step checklist, will fill a gap in the literature and be of help to potential and practicing developers.

This strategy assumes the involvement of an executive group to facilitate the guideline development and the expectation of having a face-to-face meeting as part of the reporting guideline development.

MENTAL HEALTH
Mental Health and Physical Activity
A new edition of Mental Health and Physical Activity (MENPA) has been released. MENPA is an academic peer-reviewed journal that promotes high-quality research in understanding the link between mental health and physical activity.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
The potential role of physical exercise in the treatment of epilepsy
Epilepsy & Behavior Article in Press, Corrected Proof
Ricardo Mario Arida, Fulvio Alexandre Scorza, Sérgio Gomes da Silva, Steven C. Schachter and Esper Abrão Cavalheiro

The beneficial effects of exercise for people with epilepsy, including reduction of seizure susceptibility, improvement of quality of life, reduction of anxiety and depression, and better social integration, have increasingly been reported. We present data from human and animal studies supporting the role of exercise as a therapy for epilepsy complementary to standard treatments.

URBAN DESIGN
Where We Want To Be: Home Location Preferences And Their Implications For Smart Growth
Updated 20 January 2010

February 19, 2010

By Rosanne Prinsen MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Walking and Biking Through Minnesota Winters
Information from a course to highlight and explore best local, national and international practices for encouraging year-round non-motorized (walking and cycling) transportation. The course included specific exploration of design, maintenance, and operations practices in similar winter climates, and was convened as a starting point for upcoming conversations exploring improvements to our year-round walking and cycling infrastructure and maintenance practices.

CHILDREN

Childhood Obesity – It’s Everyone’s Business: Separating Fact from Fiction
Includes a list of statements about childhood obesity. Each is identified as either
“fact” or “fiction,” with an explanation of the evidence for the statement.

Encouraging Walking and Bicycling through School Policies

Promoting Optimal Monitoring of Child Growth in Canada: Using the New WHO Growth Charts
Developed collaboratively by the Dietitians of Canada, Canadian Paediatric Society, The College of Family Physicians of Canada and Community Health Nurses of Canada. The statement is intended for use as a practice guideline for health professionals. The desired outcome is the promotion of consistent practices in monitoring growth and assessing patterns of linear growth and weight gain in infants, children and adolescents to support healthy child growth and development.

School Travel Planning Newsletter
News and information about the Canadian school travel planning project.

CHRONIC DISEASE
Coalitions Linking Action & Science for Prevention (CLASP)
More than 30 organizations from across Canada are forming partnerships in a $15.5-million series of initiatives designed to prevent chronic disease. The seven collaborative coalitions are to address such issues as childhood obesity, screening for chronic disease by family doctors, and the unique needs of First Nations communities.

CLASP Phase 1 Report
This report provides a detailed description of the CLASP Phase 1 consultation process as well as an outcome summary from each of the workshops, and an overview of the highest priority opportunities for collaborative action as identified by workshop participants.

The Economic Costs of Overweight, Obesity and Physical Inactivity Among California Adults – 2006.
On July 9, 2009, the California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA) released this report. The study found that the cost of overweight, obesity and physical inactivity had climbed to $41 billion in 2006, nearly double the amount reported in 2000.

Exercise Testing for the Prediction of Cardiac Events in Patients with Diabetes
To assess research evidence on the safety and prognostic value of exercise testing for the prediction of cardiac events in patients with chronic diseases including diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and arthritis.

Getting It Right: Case Studies of Effective Management of Chronic Disease Using
Primary Health Care Teams
Collectively, the five case studies describe a recipe for success for the design and implementation of effective, team-based primary health care for people living with chronic illness.

DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
An Economic Framework for Analysing the Social Determinants of Health and
Health Inequalities
Reducing health inequalities is an important part of health policy in most countries. This paper discusses from an economic perspective how government policy can influence health inequalities, particularly focusing on the outcome of performance targets in England, and the role of sectors of the economy outside the health service – the ‘social determinants’ of health - in delivering these targets.

HEALTH PROMOTION
Can I use this evidence in my program decision? Assessing Applicability and Transferability of Evidence (2007)
Link to Background Paper and Link to Tool
A summary of the current literature, including a process to help you evaluate the feasibility and generalizability of evidence to your public health practice. The associated tool (available separately) helps you make decisions about program priorities in your own community.

Community Health Improvement Resources (CHIR)
A web-based resource for planning, implementing and evaluating interventions to improve the health of a community. You may access information, tools and resources for health conditions and risk factors. Designed for use by public health practitioners and community stakeholders.

Health Disparities Calculator
The Health Disparities Calculator (HD*Calc) is a statistical software designed to generate multiple summary measures to evaluate and monitor health disparities (HD). HD*Calc was created as an extension of SEER*Stat that allows the user to import SEER Data

Research Tested Intervention Programs (RTIPS)
A listing of physical activity intervention programs.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Active People Survey 3
From Sport England the Active People Survey 3 began on 15 October 2008 and ran for 12 months until mid October 2009.

Disparities in Data on Healthy People 2010 Physical Activity Objectives Collected by Accelerometry and Self-Report
American Journal of Public Health - published online ahead of print
Sandra A. Ham Barbara E. Ainsworth

Conclusions. Disparities in physical activity differ from previous findings. Increased understanding of these disparities should be used to design better and more cost-effective physical activity interventions. Physical activity surveillance methods should be revised to make use of data collection methods that are more valid than self-report.

Health Survey for England - 2008: Physical activity and fitness
The 2008 Health Survey for England focused on physical activity and fitness. Adults and children were asked to recall their physical activity over recent weeks, and objective measures of physical activity and fitness were also obtained. A secondary objective was to examine results on childhood obesity and other factors affecting health, including fruit and vegetable consumption, drinking and smoking.

National policy to local practice: Working together to deliver physical activity programs
Keynote, workshop and poster presentations now available to download.

Ontario Society of Physical Activity Promoters in Public Health (OSPAPPH)
The OSPAPPH aims to be the unified voice representing public health practitioners with the mandate of promoting physical activity in their respective communities.

URBAN DESIGN
Active Design Guidelines
The Active Design Guidelines provides architects and urban designers with a manual of strategies for creating healthier buildings, streets and urban spaces, based on the latest academic research and best practices in the field.

WOMEN
Physical Activity at Midlife in Relation to Successful Survival in Women at Age 70 Years or Older
Archives of Internal Medicine Vol. 170 No. 2, January 25, 2010

Data from the ongoing cohort Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) was used. A total of 13,535 participants who were free of major chronic diseases at baseline in 1986 and were aged 70 years or older were included in the study. ……..This research demonstrates regardless of body weight, physical activity, including walking, at midlife may increase the probability of preserving optimal health in women. Maintaining a healthy body weight and high physical activity levels simultaneously at midlife is likely to increase the odds of successful survival.

February 5, 2010

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

There will not be a Physical Activity Information Round-Up next week. The Roundup will resume on February 19, 2010.

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
Bicycling and Walking in the U.S.: 2010 Benchmarking Report
Many of the benchmarks featured in this report contribute to making communities more bicycle and pedestrian friendly by changing the built environment, culture, attitudes, and behaviors.

Canada Walks
Our Mission: to change the current social paradigm so that walkable communities are the cultural and social norm in Canada.

On the Move in the Community: Canada’s first active transportation conference
Montreal June 3rd and 4th, 2010.
The conference will bring together forty local and international speakers and specialists. These experts in the field will present winning formulas that have proven successful in public awareness campaigns and cyclist- and pedestrian-friendly urban planning endeavors.

Pedestrian Forum: Safe Pedestrians and a Walkable America
VOL. 49, Winter 2010
The latest edition of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Pedestrian Forum Newsletter. It highlights efforts by the FHWA and its partners to improve the safety of walking and bicycling as a mode of transportation.

CHILDREN
Obesity: Recent Trends in Children Aged 2-11y and 12-19y: Analysis from the Health Survey for England 1993 – 2007
Comparing the HSE (2000-2007) data set shows a significantly healthier picture than the data up until 2004. The overall picture is positive for all age groups and genders. There are some gender differences with 12-19y females faring significantly worse than their 2-11y counterparts and with males where there is little difference between the two age groups.

Parks and open space: For the health and wellbeing of children and young people
See the contribution parks and open space can make to the health & wellbeing of young people, part of the Action for Young Australians program.

Urban Thinkers: Empowering people to walk and cycle
Urbanthinkers is a sustainable transportation think tank based in East Vancouver, BC with over a decade of international experience. We believe that walking and cycling to school can be fun, safe and invigorating – and that student leaders themselves will generate the shift away from a current over-reliance on driving to school.

CHRONIC DISEASE
Prevention of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic kidney disease: targeting risk factors
A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) focuses on targeting disease risk factors such as physical inactivity.

COMMUNITY
Effects of Park Improvements on Park Use and Physical Activity: Policy and Programming Implications
American Journal of Preventive Medicine Vol 37, Iss 6, Dec 2009, Pages 475-480

Improvements to parks may not automatically result in increased use and physical activity, especially when programming decreases. Multiple factors contribute to park use and need to be accounted for in future community-level interventions. Further, improving perceptions of safety alone is unlikely to result in increased park use.

DISABILITY
Participation in Sport by People with a Disability
This fact sheet presents information on disability and participation in sport by people with a disability. It also compares their participation rates with people with no disability and examines whether participation rates vary with sex, age and the type of disability. December 2009 from Australia

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Adjusting step count recommendations for anthropometric variations in leg length
Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport- Article in Press
Michael W. Beets, Stamatis Agiovlasitis, Christopher A. Fahs, Sushant M. Ranadive and Bo Fernhall

“In conclusion, notable differences in the total number of steps to achieve the recommended levels of physical activity were observed when accounting for variations in leg length. These estimates developed herein provide preliminary evidence that adjusting for anthropometric differences can provide the public with a closer approximation of their individualised steps min threshold required to meet recent physical activity recommendations.”

Blueprint for an Active Australia
The Blueprint for an Active Australia provides key actions, based on evidence of effectiveness, that can increase physical activity levels in Australia from 2010 to 2013. This document draws on available evidence that supports the need for implementation of a comprehensive range of actions at national, state and local levels. These actions address the barriers to physical activity and create opportunities for all Australians to be active in their homes, neighbourhoods, schools, workplaces and communities.

Evaluation of the Ramblers Family Walking Programme – Furness Families Walk4Life
Overall, the project was successful at engaging young families, who reported positive experiences of the program. The evaluation report highlights 34 implications for future practice. These recommendations, (which may be useful for other organizations looking to implement a walking intervention) have been broken down into clear and concise categories.

Let's get physical: The economic contribution of fitness centres in Australia
Find out the potential health and economic savings relating to fitness centres.

Physical Activity Resource Centre (PARC) New website
The PARC website has a new look and a new web address. The new and improved PARC website features include:
• Streamlined navigation to make it easier to find the content you need
• Downloadable workshops that are easier to navigate
• Brighter, cleaner design

RESEARCH TOOLS
The Cochrane Library publication frequency
Effective January, 2010, Cochrane has made the much-anticipated change to monthly publications of The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR).

Health-Evidence
This site provides current research evidence relevant to public health in a searchable online registry. If you use Health-Evidence, you don’t need to go to Cochrane because all the research in the Cochrane database that is relevant to public health is listed in Health-Evidence.

NICE Guidelines (narrowed by topic to public health)
Based on high-quality systematic reviews; several new topics are added every year.

Pubmed – using the Clinical Queries tool
Clinical Queries uses some “behind the scenes” search strategies to help you find the best evidence for your question.

Pubmed without Clinical Queries tool
You may end up with a lot of hits, but you can use limits (language, human, dates, methods) to narrow down the number.

TRIP (Turning Research into Practice)
Searches across evidence-based resources (synopses, guidelines and systematic reviews); originally clinically based, but expanding to include community prevention.

URBAN DESIGN
Abu Dhabi Urban Street Design Manual
The manual builds on similar efforts in Germany, the UK, Australia, and the US….. it introduces the concept of the pedestrian realm as an integral part of the overall street composition, and shows how this and the traveled way are combined to provide a balanced street network for all modes of transport. In this regard the manual is perhaps one of the most progressive in the world.

Risking Success Through Flexible Design
"What comes to mind when you picture a livable community? Many people probably imagine scenes of bicyclists riding the streets, children walking to school, perhaps riders hopping on streetcars to go to work or run errands, friends meeting in front of storefronts, or diners sitting at outdoor cafes. Roadway congestion and lengthy distances to destinations probably do not spring to mind."

WORKPLACE
What Works in Worksite Health Promotion - Systematic Review Findings and Recommendations from the Task Force on Community Preventive Services
American Journal of Preventive Medicine Volume 38, Issue 2, Supplement 1, Pages A1-A8, S223-S302 (February 2010)

“An important milestone has been achieved through the publication of the Task Force review of workplace health promotion programs in this issue. The thoughtful and rigorous analysis of the literature determined that well-designed, evidence-based, and theory-grounded programs can bring about health improvement, risk reduction, lower levels of healthcare use, and improved worker productivity….”

January 28, 2010

By Rosanne Prinsen MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
8 - 80 Cities, (formerly Walk & Bike for Life)
8 - 80 Cities is a Canadian based non-profit organization with an international outlook. (Their) goal is to contribute to the creation of vibrant cities and healthy communities, where residents live happier and enjoy great public places. (They) promote walking and bicycling as activities and urban parks, trails and other public spaces as great places for ALL.

The 8/80 rule:
Step 1: Think of a child that you love and care for who is approximately 8 years of age. This could be a child, grandchild, sister, brother, cousin etc.
Step 2: Think of an adult, approximately 80 years of age who you love and care for. This could be a parent, grandparent, friend etc.
Step 3: Ask yourself: Would you send that 8 year old along with the 80 year old on a walk, or a bike ride on that infrastructure? If you would, then it is safe enough, if you would not, then it is not safe enough.

CHILDREN
CFLRI 2008 Physical Activity Monitor: Getting Kids Active Bulletins are now available
Three new bulletins have been released: Main location for PA, Barriers to PA and Awareness of PA guides for children.

Kids Can Play Bulletin #1: Activity Levels of Children and Youth
The Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute's Canadian Physical Activity Levels Among Youth (CANPLAY) study measures physical activity levels of
children and youth by using pedometers to measure daily steps. Most of the analyses in this bulletin are based on combined data collected in Years Three and Four (2007 - 2009) of data collection, unless otherwise stated.

COMMUNITY
Parks and recreation programs declining as obesity, health concerns rise
"Research is now showing there's a close correlation between public health and recreational opportunities, both close to home and in state parks,"….. snip

DISABILITY
Free2BMe Physical Activity for Kids and Teens
Our goal is to provide opportunities for children and youth to participate in physical activity and fitness programs, to develop skills and knowledge towards health and wellness while asserting autonomy and independence in a fun and social environment.

MISCELLANEOUS
CPHA Centenary Web site
The Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) marks its centenary in 2010. This voluntary, non-governmental organization was formed 100 years ago by a small group of doctors who were concerned about the state of public health in Canada.

Mythbusters
Mythbusters is a series of two-page articles that summarize the best available evidence to challenge widely held beliefs about issues in Canadian healthcare.

OLDER ADULTS
Older Adults' Perspectives on Home Exercise after Falls Rehabilitation: Understanding the Importance of Promoting Healthy, Active Ageing
Health Education Journal, v68 n3 p207-218 2009

This study helps us to acknowledge that from an older adult's perspective, independence is highly valued, and encourages us to consider how we can then adopt this as a motivator for participation in healthy, active ageing. When working with older people, professionals need to adopt a holistic approach to their health, using a person-centred approach to promote positive, active ageing.

Prevention of Falls in Older Persons
From the American Geriatrics Society and British Geriatrics. A multi-factorial fall risk assessment is recommended for older adults who have had a fall, who have been identified as having gait and balance problems, or who report difficulties with gait or balance. Includes information on recommended evaluations and interventions, and the key role of evidence-based strength and balance training.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
CFLRI 2008 Physical Activity and Sport Monitors Bulletins are now available.
Eight new bulletins have been released, including such topics as PA Levels of Canadians, Beliefs about the benefits of PA and Social norms for walking.

CFLRI Lifestyle Tips: Seasonal Variations in Physical Activity
Cold weather is no excuse to be inactive. In fact, Canadian winters offer a wide range of exciting activities that you can’t do in the warmer seasons. Try some of these … snip

CFLRI Research File: Seasonal Variations in Physical Activity
It’s fun to get outside and be active on a lovely summer day, but just how much more active are we when the weather is good and how much does season affect our activity levels?..... snip

URBAN DESIGN
Healthy Planning Guide
This guide is intended to help public health and planning departments collaborate on strategies to promote healthier communities. Each page links health risks to aspects of the built environment, outlining ways to ensure that neighborhoods are designed to support health equity and community well-being.

Janaury 22, 2010

By Rosanne Prinsen MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
America Walks’ Position Statement: Walking is More Than Local
Investment and policy decisions that encourage or discourage walking are made at the local, regional, state and federal levels. Likewise, the public health, environmental and quality of life impacts of walking or not walking extend beyond local borders……

Go here to see their other position statements.

Calm Traffic before Traffic Calming
A film taken from a streetcar traveling down Market Street in San Francisco in 1906, a few days before the earthquake/fire destroyed the area. “It's worth taking 7 minutes of your life to watch (but one or two minutes is good enough) ... no paved roads, no driving rules, no traffic lights, no pedestrian crosswalks. But it all works because the pace is slower." -- John Cinatl

Congestion Road Tax and Physical Activity
American Journal of Preventive Medicine Volume 38, Issue 2, February 2010, Pages 171-177

The results from this study on the influence of a congestion road tax on levels of physical activity, though inconclusive, suggest that policy changes such as a congestion road tax might promote improvements in physical activity levels in individuals with motorized vehicles.

Mobile phone use while cycling: Incidence and effects on behavior and safety
Ergonomics, Volume 53, Issue 1 January 2010 , pages 30 – 42

Although perhaps mainly restricted to flat countries with a large proportion of cyclists, mobile phone use while cycling has increased and may be a threat to traffic safety, similar to phone use while driving a car. In this study, the extent of the problem was assessed by observing the proportion of cyclists using mobile phones, sending questionnaires to accident-involved cyclists and an experimental study was conducted on the effects of mobile phone use while cycling.

CHILDREN
A One of a Kind Walking, Biking School Opens in Canada
With the dawn of the new year, a newly opened elementary school in Ontario is heralded as the nation's first school that requires nearly all of its students to get to and from school using their own two feet.

Healthy Eating/ Physical Activity/Healthy Weights DRAFT Guidance Document
From the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion. The purpose of these documents is to summarize current evidence to assist boards of health in the implementation of the Ontario Public Health Standards. An online consultation is currently underway with Public Health Units and will conclude January 31, 2010. We anticipate the release of the final Guidance Documents on March 31, 2010.

Mapping the Walk to School Using Accelerometry Combined with a Global Positioning System
American Journal of Preventive Medicine Volume 38, Issue 2, February 2010, Pages 178-183

(Their) results provide evidence that the journey to school is purposeful and contributes to higher total physical activity and MVPA in children. Combining accelerometer and GPS data may aid our understanding of the environmental context of physical activity.

Physical Literacy for Preschoolers – It’s All About Me Me Me! ... A Multi- Movement Approach to Teaching Preschool Recreational Activities
This presentation from the 2009 Recreation Nova Scotia Annual Conference, focuses on the importance of multi-movement learning opportunities for preschool-aged children to promote Physical Literacy and examines the different teaching styles that can accommodate learning styles and developmental stages of preschool-aged children in a ‘child-centered’ recreational learning environment.

Play Matters: A study of the Best Practices to Inform Local Policy and Process in Support of Children’s Play
In municipalities across America, engaged citizens and civic leaders are actively seeking innovative ways to improve the accessibility, quality, and quantity of play and play spaces for children. To help cities build awareness & political capital and develop a policy on play, KaBOOM! identified 12 relevant and innovative best practices in play.

CHRONIC DISEASE
Launch of Updated Canadian Best Practices Portal for Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention
On January 20, 2010, a new and improved version of the Canadian Best Practices Portal, went live. The Public Health Agency of Canada’s Portal is a virtual front door to community and population health interventions related to chronic disease prevention and health promotion that have been evaluated, shown to be successful, and have the potential to be adapted and replicated by other health practitioners working in similar fields.

COMMUNITY
Development of the Community Healthy Living Index: A tool to foster healthy environments for the prevention of obesity and chronic disease
Preventive Medicine Volume 50, Supplement 1, January 2010, Pages S80-S85

This paper presents a new, comprehensive tool for communities to assess opportunities for active living and healthy eating. The Community Healthy Living Index (CHLI) covers five major sectors where people live, work, learn, and play: schools, after schools, work sites, neighborhoods, and the community-at-large. CHLI and the accompanying procedures enable community teams to assess programs, the physical environment, and policies related to healthy living, and to plan improvement strategies.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Physical Activity Research Updates from the USC Prevention Centre
A listing of past and current research published in the area of Physical Activity. This is a GREAT resource.

Special Issue of Preventive Medicine: Active Communities for Youth and Families: Using Research to Create Momentum for Change
Preventive Medicine Volume 50, Supplement 1, Pages S1-S126 (January 2010)

The 15 papers presented at the Active Living Research conference and published in this issue are divided into the following subsections covering various aspects of promoting physical activity in communities:
• Translating Research to Policy Award
• Parks and Recreation
• Youth and Schools
• Transportation and Land Use
• Measurement Advances

URBAN DESIGN
National Geographic New Suburban Design
Explore this interactive learning tool that compares the differences between urban sprawl type design and new urbanism.

Neighborhood determinants of self-efficacy, physical activity, and body weights among Canadian Children
Health & Place, Article in Press
Z. Davidson A, Simen-Kapeu and P.J. Veugelers (U of A Researchers)

Both infrastructural investments such as in recreational facilities, sidewalks and parks, as well as health education to promote self-efficacy may increase PA and prevent overweight among children.

New Urban News
They have created a one-stop location for news, resources, and case studies on designing walkable, complete streets

Urban sprawl and health: Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean healthier
A Healthy Public Policy Information Sheet from Alberta Health Services.

January 15, 2010

By Rosanne Prinsen MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

CHILDREN
Fitness of Canadian children and youth: Results from the 2007-2009 Canadian
Health Measures Survey
Fitness levels of children and youth have declined significantly and meaningfully since 1981, regardless of age or sex. Significant sex differences exist for most fitness measures. Fitness levels change substantially between ages 6 and 19 years……. snip

Meeting the Challenge of Childhood Obesity
The State Education Standard is the policy journal of the National Association of State Boards of Education. Written for lay leaders and professional educators alike, the journal explores major education issues through the lens of policy development and implementation. All articles are free to download as a .pdf.

CHRONIC DISEASE
Leisure-time physical activity and risk of type 2 diabetes in patients with established vascular disease or poorly controlled vascular risk factors
Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice Article in Press
B.G. Brouwer et al

Leisure-time physical activity is associated with a decreased risk of T2DM in patients with manifest arterial disease, or poorly controlled risk factors. The combination of physical activity and non-obesity is associated with an even lower risk of the development of type 2 diabetes than the sum of their independent, protective effect.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Canadian Health Measures Survey Results Released
The CHMS captured key information relevant to the health of Canadians by means of direct physical measurements, such as body measurements, cardio-respiratory fitness, musculoskeletal fitness and blood pressure.

Fitness of Canadian adults: Results from the 2007-2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey
Based on results of the fitness tests and anthropometric measurements, many Canadian
adults face health risks due to suboptimal fitness levels….. snip

Kinetic Notions
HumanKinetics.com will now feature Kinetic Notions, a new weekly column offering a thought-provoking look at life and physical activity.

ParticipACTION: Baseline Research on the Resurgence of Canada's Physical Activity Social Marketing Leader
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2009, 6:89

An open access journal. The set of ParticipACTION papers in this issue establish benchmarks and provide baseline and initial impact data for the evaluation and monitoring of ParticipACTION, using qualitative and quantitative research methods. As a set, they describe a comprehensive approach to setting up evaluations of national social marketing efforts to promote physical activity.

The relationship of physical activity and overweight to objectively measured green space accessibility and use
Social Science & Medicine Article in Press, Corrected Proof
Andrew P. Jonesa, Emma Coombes and Melvyn Hillsdon

The findings suggest that the provision of good access to green spaces in urban areas may help promote population physical activity.

January 11, 2009

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
Cycling resources from Australia (Queensland Department of Transport).
This series of notes is designed to assist planners and engineers provide for cycling in their local area. (The ink takes you to a main page with links to many different documents/resources)

Integrating Bicycling and Public Transport in North America
This paper provides an overview of bike-transit integration in large American and Canadian cities. It begins with an analysis of national trends in bike-and-ride programs such as the provision of bike racks on buses, accommodation of bikes on rail vehicles, and bike parking at rail stations and bus stops. Most of the paper, however, is devoted to case studies of bike-transit integration in six large American cities (San Francisco, Portland, Minneapolis, Chicago, Washington, and New York) and two Canadian cities (Vancouver and Toronto).

Seattle Crosswalk: Tap foot, Lights blink, Cross street
A unique pedestrian-activated crosswalk that blinks as people cross. Includes video.

Bad crosswalk round about design
A 3-minute video of pedestrians and bicyclists trying to cross what appears to be the exit of a very busy roundabout. The phrase "you can't get there from here" comes to mind...

CHILDREN
Effective elements of school health promotion across behavioral domains: A systematic review of reviews
Most school health education programs focus on a single behavioral domain. Integrative programs that address multiple behaviors may be more efficient, but only if the elements of change are similar for these behaviors. The objective of this study was to examine which effective elements of school health education are similar across three particular behavioral domains.

Go Out and Play: Youth Sports in America
This study measures the nationwide participation rates of girls and boys in exercise and organized team sports. The central focus is on how the intersections among families, schools and communities are related to children’s involvement and interest in athletics and physical activity.

Safe Routes to School Putting Traffic Safety First: How Safe Routes to School Initiatives Protect Children Walking and Bicycling
From the safe routes to school national partnership (USA)

DISABILITY
Pathways Between Physical Activity and Quality of Life in Adults With Multiple Sclerosis
Health Psychology Volume 28, Issue 6, November 2009, Pages 682-689

The observed pattern of relationships supports the possibility that physical activity is indirectly associated with improved QOL through pathways that include fatigue, pain, social support, and self-efficacy in individuals with MS.

Sport and Physical Activity in the Life of a Man with Cerebral Palsy: Compensation for Disability with Psychosocial Benefits and Costs
Psychology of Sport and Exercise Article in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Cadeyrn J. Gaskin, Mark B. Andersen, and Tony Morris

The life history of (this subject) illustrates the benefits and costs of trying to compensate for disabilities through sport and physical activity. In (his) life, sport and physical activity both promoted and impeded (his) psychosocial development.

OLDER ADULTS
Effects of a physical training and nutritional intervention program in frail elderly people regarding habitual physical activity level and activities of daily living—A randomized controlled pilot study
Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics Article in Press, Corrected Proof
Elisabeth Rydwika, Kerstin Frändinb and Gunnar Aknerc

The present study adds data on physical activity level and ADL and indicates that physical training increased the habitual physical activity level in frail elderly people and that this increase remained over time for six months. Increase in physical activity and degree of home-based exercises were moderately related to improvements in ADL. The nutrition intervention did not add any extra benefit. Studies with larger sample sizes and targeted interventions towards behavioral and environmental factors are necessary before any further conclusions can be drawn.

OVEWRWEIGHT/OBESITY
CDC's Recommended Strategies and Measurements to Prevent Obesity in the United States
This manual describes 24 recommended strategies by the CDC to encourage and support healthy eating and active living. In addition, a single measure is provided for each strategy to help communities track their progress over time.

Telephone intervention promoting weight-related health behaviors
Preventive Medicine Article in Press
Youngmee Kim, Joanne Pike, Heather Adams, Di Cross, Colleen Doyle and John Foreyt

The Nutrition and Physical Activity (NuPA) study was designed to promote fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and weight management for a working population.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Effective Techniques in Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Interventions: A Meta-Regression
Health Psychology Volume 28, Issue 6, November 2009, Pages 690-701

Meta-analyses of behavior change (BC) interventions typically find large heterogeneity in effectiveness and small effects. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of active BC interventions designed to promote physical activity and healthy eating and investigate whether theoretically specified BC techniques improve outcome.

Randomised controlled trial of a pedometer-based telephone intervention to increase physical activity among cardiac patients not attending cardiac rehabilitation
Patient Education and Counseling Article in Press
Susan Furber, Lyra Butler, Philayrath Phongsavan, Andrew Mark and Adrian Bauman

The findings that the pedometer-based telephone intervention was successful in increasing physical activity levels in cardiac patients who did not attend a CRP could result in major health benefits for this group of people.

WOMEN
Effects of recommended levels of physical activity on pregnancy outcomes
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Article in Press
Katarina Melzer PhD et al

Active women have better aerobic fitness as compared to inactive women. The risk for operative delivery is lower in active women compared to inactive, when controlled for birthweight, maternal weight gain, and parity. Further studies with larger sample size are required to confirm the association between physical activity and pregnancy outcomes.

WORKPLACE
Workplace physical activity and nutrition interventions
This evidence module provides an overview of the best evidence currently available about workplace health promotion programs to promote physical activity, healthy diet or both and prevent overweight and obesity. It synthesises findings and recommendations from multiple systematic reviews and recent reports.