June 26, 2009

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
Bike Belles
This website aims to dispel the myths and barriers that sometimes prevent girls from cycling.

Cycling awareness
From the London Telegraph…. “Cyclists were encouraged to slow down thanks to this crater-sized 'hole' in the middle of a towpath. But the hole is an optical illusion, a three-dimensional drawing of a canyon, in an attempt to make careless cyclists hit the brakes rather than ride dangerously and ignore pedestrians..."

Cyclist Harassment A Misdemeanor in Columbia (MO)
Harassment of bicyclists, including shouting threats and honking for the purpose of frightening a cyclist (is now) a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by $1,000 fine or a year in jail.

Town Hall Presentation
10-minute video featuring Dan Burden of Walkable Communities, Inc.;

Way To Go, Seattle!
Way to Go, Seattle! is the City’s umbrella for all of our various, coordinated efforts to increase walking, biking, transit use, carpooling and other eco ways to get around. We’re your resource for Seattle’s “drive less” programs, as well as useful tools and tips to help you get around without driving.

CHILDREN
Bones4Life
The site is divided into two sections. One section is designed for teachers and hosts a variety of resources to use in the classroom to educate children about bone health. The second section is for children and provides interactive games and quizzes to enhance their learning of bone health.

The Built Environment: Designing Communities to Promote Physical Activity in Children
The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a strong policy statement that encourages pediatricians to advocate for policy changes to enable children to safely walk and bicycle in their communities.

CONFERENCES
AICR Annual Research Conference on Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Cancer
November 5th & 6th 2009. This year’s topics include: Challenges of conducting dietary clinical trials; Nutrition and behavior in cancer survivorship; Phytochemicals in herbs, spices and fruits; Bioenergetics and cancer; Turning cancer prevention policy into action and Physical activity and cancer.

International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health
May 5th – 8th 2010. The 3rd in a series of Congresses organized to better understand the research, public policies and programs pertaining to the complex relationships between physical activity and health.

Knowledge Transfer: Some Assembly Required
September 30th - October 2nd 2009. Hosted by the Health Research Network of Alberta. With the help of our expert speakers and each other, we will explore and gain an appreciation for complexity theory and complex adaptive systems and what this tells us about knowledge transfer or translation (KT), learn what tools and techniques can help facilitate KT, learn how to develop KT plans and how to assess them, and discover how we might measure the success of our KT efforts.

HEALTH (GENERAL)
Institute of Wellbeing
Launched June 11th, 2009. Their signature product - the Canadian Index of Wellbeing -will track Canada’s progress and provide a set of indicators in eight interconnected categories that will enable us to see whether we are better or worse off than we used to be, whether we will leave the world a better or worse place for the generations that follow, and what we need to change to achieve a better outcome.

MENTAL HEALTH
Guidance for Occupational therapy and physical activity interventions to promote the mental wellbeing of older people in primary care and residential care
This guidance is for all those involved in promoting older people's mental wellbeing. It focuses on practical support for everyday activities, based on occupational therapy principles and methods.

Youth Beyond Blue
A new youth mental health website to help raise awareness of symptoms of depression and anxiety, and to help youth get help. See factsheet #7 and #12 for information related to physical activity.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
A Systematic Review of the Evidence Base for Developing a Physical Activity and Health Legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
This systematic review sets out the lessons learned from the best available international evidence. It will enable us to work with greater confidence towards securing a true and lasting health and physical activity legacy from the 2012 Games.

BCPRA Physical Activity Strategy Seasonal Newsletter
Spring 2009 version of the BC Recreation and Parks Association newsletter. While visiting their website, you can also learn about how your community can support inactive adults with regular physical activity.

Early management of persistent non-specific low back pain
With regards to physical activity and exercise, this guidance recommends advising patients to stay physically active and to carry on with normal activities as far as possible.

Weighing it Up
The Australian Government's response to obesity, including several physical activity recommendations.

URBAN DESIGN
City Dwellers Worldwide Healthier than Suburban Counterparts
"No matter which country you are in, new research finds those who live in an urban neighborhood are twice as likely to be physically active the those in the suburbs. According to a San Diego State University study published in this month's American Journal of Preventative Medicine, the biggest single factor influencing physical activity around the world is accessibility to sidewalks.

Public Spaces & Public Life Perth 2009
The surveys document urban change over time and provide empirical evidence of the significant improvement in city life that result from the increase of public space quality. This study analyses the evolution of public space in Perth city centre, contrasting survey data collected in 2008/09 with their seminal study of 1993/94.

WORKPLACE
Determinants of participation in worksite health promotion programmes: a systematic review.
International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2009, 6:26
this review found that worksite health promotion programs that provide 1) incentives; 2) offer a multi-component strategy: and 3) focus on multiple behaviors rather than on physical activity only have a higher participation level.

Improving Diet and Physical Activity with ALIVE: A Worksite Randomized Trial
American Journal of Preventive Medicine Volume 36, Issue 6, Pages 475-483 (June 2009)
An RCT, conducted in 2006, of a 16-week e-mail program offered individually tailored, small-step goals; a personal homepage with tips; educational materials; and tracking and simulation tools.

Workplace Wellness Programs: Benefits
A USA Today news article titled: Cost-conscious companies re-evaluate wellness programs. “Companies, desperate to slice fat from their budgets during this recession, increasingly are targeting workplace wellness programs ……”

May 14, 2009

By Rosanne Prinsen MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
Cycling Vancouver
A cycling route planner, using Google Maps technology in conjunction with mapped data on Metro Vancouver cycling routes. Cyclists can search for routes that have such features as minimum elevation gains, minimum air pollution, and minimum distances.

Walkability Toolkit
The Walkability Toolkit has been created to serve as a resource for audiences interested in creating walkable communities focusing on pedestrian friendly environments. The toolkit is a compilation of a variety of Canadian articles including statistics that will enable you to provide sound research for your initiative.

Walking and Walkability: Research on Pedestrians & the Public Realm
The knowledge-base on pedestrian movement and the environment here at London Analytics is well-established and growing strongly; we developed the International Walkability Benchmark, and together with the Intelligent Space Partnership calibrated the world's first validated city pedestrian flow forecasting model.

What Makes a Neighbourhood Bikeable
This report details the results of four focus group sessions conducted by TransLink in partnership with the Cycling in Cities study from the University of British Columbia. The focus groups were conducted in order to gain a deeper understanding of what makes a neighbourhood bikeable.

CHILDREN
PhysEd Source
A *NEW* online directory that aims to provide useful web links and other helpful resources for professionals in the field of physical education. The site is designed to provide links to highly informative physical education, physical activity and health resources from all over the world.
Whether you are looking for online resources that are provincial, national or international in nature, or you are seeking the latest in research from the field of physical education, physedsource.com is your place to start.

COMMUNITY
Walk On
walkON is a community partnership of Heart Health projects from Central West Ontario. We offer a menu of program activities to engage the community in the creation of environments that support walking.

CONFERENCES
Healthy Parks Healthy People: International Congress 2010
Melbourne April 11th – 16th 2010.
If you work in urban planning, community development, physical and mental health, tourism, education, recreation, ecology and park management (urban and protected area) then this is the conference for you!!

OVERWEIGHT/OBESITY
Obesity: An Overview of Current Landscape and Prevention-Related Activities in Ontario
Published 30 April 09. Physical Activity is mentioned throughout. The report provides a brief overview of the issue of obesity in Ontario and Canada and provides a listing of current initiatives that address and support activities related to its prevention. In addition, the report provides an overview of available tools that can help plan, assess and provide support to obesity prevention-related initiatives in Ontario.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
The Cinderella of public health news: physical activity coverage in Australian newspapers, 1986-2006
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 2009, 33: 189-192
Learn about how physical activity coverage in newspapers has changed over the last 20 years.

Physical Activity in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Migrant Groups to Western Society: A Review of Barriers, Enablers and Experiences
Sports Medicine, 2009, 39:167-177
This paper reviews the current literature outlining the barriers, challenges and enablers of physical activity for people in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) groups who have recently migrated to Western society, and suggests recommendations and strategies that may positively influence physical activity participation in CALD populations.

WORKPLACE
Workplace Wellness: A literature review for NZ Well@Work
The specific aims of this review were to explore the rationale for why wellness should be promoted in the workplace, to identify the benefits to employers and employees of WHP programs and/or interventions, and to understand ways to make wellness initiatives effective in the workplace (specifically those relating to healthy eating and physical activity).

May 8, 2009

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

I Walk in My Street: A Guide to Planning Successful Pedestrian Streets in New York City
The pedestrian streets that began to crop up around New York in the summer of 2008 have been a long-time coming, and their arrival was widely celebrated. But care must be taken if their continuation and expansion is to be ensured; if their reintroduction is poorly managed, they could easily meet the same fate as the pedestrianizations of the 1970’s.

Making the Case for Active Transportation
Eight information bulletins have been developed by CFLRI for professionals and community members who want to build a case for active transportation in their community. Each bulletin includes evidence that supports the investment of time and resources for active transportation opportunities at the local level. They focus on designing communities for moving people and not cars. Recommended actions to increase and strengthen collaborative partnerships for active transportation are also included.

New Urban News
A professional newsletter for planners, developers, architects, builders, public officials and others who are interested in the creation of human-scale communities. If you click on “past articles” in the left hand column you will find some interesting articles.

Pedestrian Forum - Spring 2009
The latest edition of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Pedestrian Forum Newsletter is now available. The newsletter highlights efforts by the FHWA and its partners to improve the safety of walking and bicycling as a mode of transportation.

Valuing the health benefits of active transport modes
Land Transport New Zealand has released a report that explores the per-kilometer value for the health benefits of active transport modes, such as walking and cycling.

CHILDREN

A healthy active childhood: giving children the best chance of a cancer-free future
This report published for World Cancer Day 2009: Explains the link between cancer and excess body weight, poor diet and physical inactivity, Calls on parents, teachers, and decision - makers to take action now to encourage healthy habits among children……

Design for Play - A guide to creating successful play spaces
The guide shows how to design good play spaces, which can be affordably maintained, which give children and young people the freedom to play creatively, and yet still allow them to experience risk, challenge and excitement.

Encouraging kids to live an active childhood
A factsheet.
Free play: Improving children's physical health
This briefing for the play sector highlights the official recommendations (England) on obesity that relate to free play, leisure opportunities and access to open space

Play and health: Making the links
This briefing for health improvement specialists, primary care teams and healthy schools coordinators, provides information on why play is crucial to children's health and explores possibilities for joint working between the health and play sectors.

Play for a change - Play, Policy and Practice: A review of contemporary perspectives
Play England has published a comprehensive review of the evidence underpinning current thinking on play. It provides a detailed analysis of research and literature published since 2001 that underpins contemporary understandings of the importance of play and how this relates to social policy and practice.

Using Child-friendly Maps to Promote Active Transportation
A feature article on the Ontario Health Promotion E-Bulletin.

CONFERENCES

2009 Weight of the Nation Conference
The CDC’s inaugural conference on obesity prevention and control will be held in Washington, DC July 27th – 29th. The event is designed to provide a forum to highlight progress in the prevention and control of obesity through policy and environmental strategies and is framed around four intervention settings: community, medical care, school, and workplace.

HEALTH GENERAL

Cancer-related beliefs and behaviors in eight geographic regions
This report provides the first internationally comparable data of people's beliefs about screening, diagnosis and behaviors that increase cancer risk, such as smoking, drinking and being overweight.

MENTAL HEALTH
Up and Running? Exercise therapy and the treatment of mild or moderate depression in primary care
The Mental Health Foundation calls for patients with depression to be offered exercise on prescription. Substantial evidence shows that exercise therapy can be an effective treatment for depression. Includes a report, booklets and FAQ’s.

OLDER ADULTS

Interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community
Exercise interventions reduce risk and rate of falls. Research is needed to confirm the contexts in which multifactorial assessment and intervention, home safety interventions, vitamin D supplementation, and other interventions are effective.

OVERWEIGHT/OBESITY

2009 Annual Evidence Update - Obesity - Childhood obesity: surveillance and prevention (England).
The current update demonstrates of the growth of evidence within this field, with reviews now covering broader issues around the environment, policy and practice. Although the systematic reviews vary in their quality assurance and inclusion criteria, collectively the available evidence base remains weak, due to the inconsistencies and heterogeneity of available studies. To a certain extent this is indicative of the complexity of the obesity however, the evidence from these systematic reviews will continue to build a foundation for future research and help to inform practice and policy.

Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: One Year On
This report reviews progress on the delivery of Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: A Cross-Government Strategy for England (published January 2008) and sets out priorities for the future. One Year On builds on the five themes from Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives, but demonstrates how we have developed our thinking over the last year to keep up momentum in tackling unhealthy weight. (Physical activity in mentioned throughout).

Primary care physicians' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices regarding childhood obesity: a systematic review.
Obesity Reviews 2009 Mar; 10(2):227-36
From this review, it is obvious that there is a need for education of primary care physicians to increase the uniformity of the assessment and to improve physicians' self-efficacy in managing childhood obesity.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

The 2007 Physical Activity and Sport Monitor
The CFLRI bulletins are now released in their entirety. There are eleven different bulletins including topics such as social norms, barriers, attitudes, beliefs, intentions etc.

Active Halton
Formally the Halton Active Living Network, is now Active Halton. The network is a group of individuals and organizations who have an interest in promoting the adoption of active lifestyles for all ages in the Halton community. Active Halton has an ambitious plan to increase the physical activity levels of Halton residents by 20% by 2012.

Modeling the lifetime costs and health effects of lifestyle intervention in the prevention and treatment of obesity in Switzerland
This study compared a lifestyle program for overweight or obese patients with the standard care. Patients on the lifestyle program attended dietitian sessions and supervised exercise sessions for the first three years. The lifestyle intervention consisted of regular physical activity and healthy eating, including a diet rich in fruit and vegetables.

March 6, 2009

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
Creating Walkable and Transit-Supportive Communities in Halton
Discussion paper identifies parameters/criteria that could/should be captured in the long-term land use planning process to encourage walkable and transit supportive communities. (Includes a great glossary of terms).

Walking and Cycling Reports
Links to a number of reports from the Victoria Transport Policy Institute.

CHILDREN
The benefits of physical activity for youth with developmental disabilities: A systematic review
American Journal of Health Promotion Volume 23, Issue 3
Results indicate that there is reasonably strong evidence that children and adolescents with developmental disabilities achieve health benefits from participation in group exercise programs, treadmill training, or therapeutic horse riding/ hippotherapy. There is also evidence, of a less strong degree, for health benefits from adapted skiing or aquatic programs.

CHRONIC DISEASE
Arthritis Pain May Keep People with Heart Disease Physically Inactive
The study in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), found that arthritis is common among those having heart disease. Approximately 57 percent of adults with heart disease have arthritis.

Ontario Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance's Common Messages Project
The document includes a background on the need for common messages, an introduction to messages and related actions that health practitioners, organizations, and groups can take to collectively move forward in addressing chronic disease and its prevention.. (Includes a physical activity message.)

Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention - Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective.
“The report tells us what kinds and how many cancer cases can be prevented, and it details 48 specific policy recommendations that would significantly reduce the burden of cancer now affecting more than 1.4 million Americans every year.”

CONFERENCES
Weight of the Nation Conference, July 27-29, 2009
Weight of the Nation is designed to provide a forum to highlight progress in the prevention and control of obesity through policy and environmental strategies and is framed around four intervention settings: community, medical care, school, and workplace.

HEALTHY EATING
Ready-to-use presentation on nutrition labeling
Produced by Health Canada this presentation has been developed for anyone who is in a position to educate consumers about how to make informed food choices.

MISCELLANEOUS
Visual Periodic Table - Visual Literacy
“Here is a fun and useful tool to help you choose a presentation style! The color codes help you determine which of the options fit the data you have and the message you're trying to convey.”

OLDER ADULTS
Accelerometer Assessment of Physical Activity in Active, Healthy Older Adults
Journal of Aging and Physical Activity 17(1), January 2009
This study demonstrates the rich information that accelerometers provide about older adult activity patterns—information that might further our understanding of the relationship between physical activity and healthy aging.

Policies for Healthy Ageing: an Overview
The paper groups policies into four different types and within each, it describes the range of individual types of programs that can be brought to bear to enhance improved health of the elderly. A key policy issue in this area concerns whether such programs have a positive effect on health outcomes and whether they are cost effective. (Physical Activity is mentioned a number of times).

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Appropriate Physical Activity Intervention Strategies for Weight Loss and Prevention of Weight Regain for Adults (Position Stand)
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: Volume 41(2) February 2009pp 459-471
This updated Position Stand provides the physical activity workforce with the latest quality evidence on the most effective physical activity dose for preventing overweight and obesity and maintaining healthy weight. Optimum levels of physical activity outlined in the Position Stand should be adopted by existing and future physical activity and overweight/obesity programs to achieve the maximum population health benefits.

Be active, be healthy: a plan for getting the nation moving (UK)
Be active, be healthy establishes a new framework for the delivery of physical activity alongside sport for the period leading up to the London 2012 Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and beyond. Programs outlined in the plan will contribute to Government’s ambition of getting 2 million more people active by 2012 and have been designed to leave a lasting legacy from the Games.

Exercise Dose and Quality of Life
Archives of Internal Medicine Vol. 169 No. 3, February 9, 2009
Positive changes in all mental and physical aspects of quality of life, except bodily pain, were significantly related to physical activity. Higher doses of exercise were associated with larger improvements in mental and physical aspects of quality of life, giving a dose-response relationship. Additionally, these improvements occurred independently of both changes in weight and fitness.

URBAN DESIGN
Healthy spaces and places project (Australia)
The Healthy Spaces and Places project is developing a national planning guide and accompanying materials, addressing the relationship between people’s health and the built environment. (Be sure to look at the facts sheets found under the heading “links to further information”.

WOMEN
Mothers in Motion seeks Community Collaborators
A new section of the Mothers in Motion's website dedicated to Physical Activity Promoters who are assisting mothers of low socioeconomic status. Learn more about the barriers to this group, and find great tools and resources to assist you in structuring better programs to address accessibility, availability and affordability. In addition, CAAWS is seeking opportunities to collaborate with ten communities across Canada interested in developing and delivering a physical activity program and/or sport initiative for mothers of low socioeconomic status (LSES).

February 20, 2009

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

CHILDREN
Contributing to physical activity and healthy eating for young Canadians
Report from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada 2007

Factors that Shape Our Children’s Participation in Physical Activity and Sport: Saskatchewan Parents’ Perspective
March 2008

Health promotion profile of youth sports clubs in Finland: club officials' and coaches' perceptions
Health Promotion International, Vol. 24 No. 1
The study shows that youth sports clubs in Finland are fairly health promoting in general, but only every fourth club has realized health promotion with a comprehensive ethos. Every third of the clubs expressed very little interest in health promotion. Thus, there is still a lot of potential for further development in the whole field of sports. (This journal offers free access).

Longitudinal Study of Physical Activity and Inactivity in Preschoolers: The FLAME Study
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2009, 41: 96–102
Two hundred and forty-four children were seen annually at 3, 4, and 5 yr. Physical activity and inactivity was measured by questionnaire and by Actical accelerometers for five consecutive days each year in children and once in each parent for 7 d. Conclusion: Levels of physical activity declined in boys and girls between the ages 3 and 4-5 yr, whether using objective measures or parental reports of activity.

CHRONIC DISEASE
Policy and action for cancer prevention
The report reviews the evidence on environmental, economic, social and personal determinants of food, nutrition, and physical activity patterns and the interventions and actions that may affect these.

CONFERENCES
3rd International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health
5-8 May 2010 Toronto

Be Active 09
14 - 17 October 2009 Brisbane Australia
The goal of be active '09 is to provide a scientific forum in which delegates from Australia and around the world can come together to discuss and debate the latest scientific research and evidence on all forms of physical activity - from elite sport to walking in local communities.

Walk 21
7-9 October 2009 New York

HEALTH PROMOTION
Six essential roles of health promotion research centres: the Atlantic Canada experience
Health Promotion International, Vol. 24 No. 1 (open access)
The conclusion raises questions regarding the value of university-based research
centres and challenges to their sustainability.

MISCELLANEOUS
Poverty and health in Edmonton
On page 25: "From the Canadian Community Health Survey, the combined data (2003 and 2005) show that a higher percentage of children and youth (12-18 years) in the Average SES group were classified as physically inactive than the High or Low SES Groups"

OLDER ADULTS
A Million Messages for Seniors Falls Prevention
A package of resources that provide information about falls prevention for older adults. Using illustrated characters key messages about falls prevention are presented to seniors. Information sheets accompany the visual display to provide more detailed information about steps older adults can take to prevent falls.

OVERWEIGHT/OBESITY
Draw the line campaign
An innovative healthy weight campaign from the West Australian divisions of the Heart Foundation, Cancer Council and Diabetes WA. There are also physical activity tools, resources.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
A Toolkit for the Design, Implementation & Evaluation of Exercise Referral Schemes DRAFT
The BHFNC has recently developed a toolkit for the design, implementation and evaluation of exercise referral schemes. A draft version is now available for consultation.

Find thirty every day
The campaign aims to increase the number of West Australian adults who are sufficiently active for good health. By visiting this site you’ve taken the first step to finding thirty minutes of physical activity every day and finding all kinds of rewards.

WOMEN
Exercise on prescription for women aged 40-74 recruited through primary care: two year randomised controlled trial
British Medical Journal 2008;337:a2509
This programme of exercise on prescription increased physical activity and quality of life over two years, although falls and injuries also increased. This finding supports the use of exercise on prescription programmes as part of population strategies to reduce physical inactivity.

October 24, 2008

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
Cycling in the Netherlands
Based on the frequent requests for information from policy-makers, politicians and NGO’s from all over the world, the authors decided to produce a comprehensive brochure about cycling in the Netherlands, giving an actual overview on the results and findings of relevant studies and experiences. With this publication, we would also like to support the work of the UN ECE/WHO PEP programme to facilitate the exchange and dissemination of existing good practices in the different countries in the European region to promote safe conditions for people to walk and cycle in urban areas.

Walkability research tools - Summary report
Land Transport New Zealand released a report 15 Sept 08 that examines appropriate physical and operational variables related to walkability, and explores the development of a methodology for the collection of these variables.

What are the benefits of complete streets?
Many fact sheets and other information showing the benefits of complete streets.

CHILDREN
Green Hour
By giving our children a "Green Hour" a day -- a bit of time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world -- we can set them on the path toward physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Project energize
Project Energize is a project for primary schools to improve children's physical activity and nutrition, to improve their overall health.

Reducing childhood obesity through safer sport
Research conducted by the University of New South Wales found that parents are preventing their children from participating in sport and other recreational activity because of injury and safety concerns.

Safety guidelines for children and young people in sport and recreation
Smartplay has developed New safety guidelines for children and young people in sport and recreation.

SOGO Active
Sogo Active is designed by Coca-Cola Ltd., ParticipACTION, and an Advisory Committee of youth and organizations to help young Canadians between 13 and 19 to become more active by creating a physical activity movement by and for youth.

CHRONIC DISEASE
Factors influencing the adoption of an innovation: An examination of the uptake of the Canadian Heart Health Kit (HHK)
Implementation Science 2008, 3:41
The Healthy Heart Kit (HHK) is a risk management and patient education resource for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and promotion of cardiovascular health. Although previous studies have demonstrated the HHK's content validity and practical utility, no published study has examined physicians' uptake of the HHK and factors that shape its adoption.

Is integration of healthy lifestyle promotion into primary care feasible? Discussion and consensus sessions between clinicians and researchers
BMC Health Services Research 2008, 8:213
The adoption of a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity, a healthy diet, moderate alcohol consumption and abstinence from smoking, is associated with a major decrease in the incidence of chronic diseases and mortality. Primary health-care (PHC) services therefore attempt, with rather limited success, to promote such lifestyles in their patients. The objective of the present study is to ascertain the perceptions of clinicians and researchers within the Basque Health System of the factors that hinder or facilitate the integration of healthy lifestyle promotion in routine PHC setting.

Searches for evidence related to chronic disease: Focusing on intervention strategies
Here is a list of searches that relate to Specific Intervention Strategies. Each search includes articles that have been assessed as providing strong to moderate evidence related to chronic disease interventions.

CONFERENCES
Opening doors to an active life: how to engage inactive communities
The annual conference of the British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health focuses on ways to increase physical activity in hard to reach groups.

OLDER ADULTS
Development of a nutrition and physical activity booklet to engage seniors
BMC Research Notes 2008, 1:77
This paper describes the development and process evaluation of an interactive booklet aimed at motivating older adults to improve their nutrition and physical activity.

OVERWEIGHT/OBESITY
F as in fat: How obesity policies are failing in America 2008
Although many promising programs have emerged in communities to promote healthy eating and exercise, they are not preventing the spread of obesity…….

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans provide specific recommendations about the types and amounts of physical activity you need to do each week and how hard you need to work to gain substantial health benefits.
Extra activity needed to maintain weight loss.

Effect of exercise on 24-month weight loss maintenance in overweight women
Jakicic JM, Marcus BH, Lang W, Janney C. Effect of exercise on 24-month weight loss maintenance in overweight women. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Jul 28;168(14):1550-9. Researchers have estimated just how much physical activity overweight women need to keep extra pounds from coming back—and it’s a lot…..

Fitness, Diet, Health and Medical Cartoons
Cartoons for publications, web sites, presentations and other projects. Terms of use can be found at the bottom of the web-page. Don’t forget to navigate back to the homepage – there are many categories of cartoons available.

Mind guide to physical activity
Mind is a leading mental health charity in England and Wales and has produced information on many areas of mental health. Physical activity can boost mental wellbeing and change your outlook on life. It can help people with anxiety and depression, and might even prevent such problems from developing in the first place. This booklet provides practical advice about ways of building more activity into your life, and identifies ways to help you stick to a more active lifestyle. It's not designed to give detailed information about individual activities.

Physical activity and mental health
This chapter from the updated USA Physical Activity guidelines addresses 7 general questions about physical activity and mental health conditions. Each question includes subsections that focus on whether physical activity can protect against the onset of, or reduce, symptoms; whether the effects of physical activity on the symptoms differ by age, sex, race/ethnicity, or medical condition; and whether the effects of physical activity differ by the type, intensity, or timing of the physical activity.

Physical Activity for Everyone
The CDC, a key partner in developing and writing the 2008 US PA Guidelines, has re-designed and updated the Physical Activity for Everyone Web site. Here, you’ll find examples and tools to help you better understand how much activity you need to do on a regular basis, how to begin a sensible routine and how to be active your way by finding activities you enjoy and that fit into your lifestyle.

URBAN DESIGN
Neighborhoods and obesity in later life
Conclusions. The mechanisms by which neighborhood environment and weight status are linked in later life differ by gender, with economic and social environment aspects being important for men and built environment aspects being salient for women.

August 22, 2008

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

CONFERENCES
9th International conference on walking
Barcelona October 8th – 10th, 2008

DISABILITY/ACCESSIBILITY
Accessible sidewalks
A four-part video developed by the U.S. Access Board to illustrate access issues and considerations in the design of sidewalks.- Part I: Design Issues for Pedestrians who use Wheelchairs (10.00 min.)- Part II: Design Issues for Pedestrians with Ambulatory Impairments (7.51 min.)- Part III: Design Issues for Pedestrians with Low Vision (11.24 min.)- Part IV: Design Issues for Pedestrians who are Blind (11.19 min.)Can be watched online; a free DVD is also available.

HEALTHY EATING
The links between the neighborhood food environment and childhood nutrition
“This paper identifies key investigations of the neighborhood food environment, examines current efforts to bring about improvements, and discusses new research and policy priorities.”

HEALTH GENERAL
A healthier America: 10Top Priorities for Prevention
Physical activity is mentioned throughout.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
The effect of a pedometer-based physical activity intervention on sitting time
Preventive Medicine, 2008, 47(2): 179-181. After 1 year of intervention, total, weekday, and weekend day sitting times were reduced in the intervention community, while sitting time increased in the comparison community.

Physical activity as a strategy for maintaining tobacco abstinence: A randomised trial
Preventive Medicine, 2008, 47(2): 215:220. PA promotion as an adjunct to tobacco treatment increases moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) levels; changes in MVPA predict sustained abstinence, perhaps by improving mood and self-efficacy.

URBAN DESIGN
A hierarchy of sociodemographic and environmental correlates of walking and obesity
Preventive Medicine, 2008, 47(2): 172:178. These analyses reveal that gender and ethnic subgroups display substantially different weight outcomes across different levels of walkability. In contrast, walking was consistently higher for all groups in the more walkable neighborhoods…... This information supports a more efficient use of scarce resources to promote physical activity and healthy body weight.

Our cities, our health, our future: Acting on social determinants for health equity in urban settings
Physical activity is mentioned throughout.

Why place matters: Building a movement for healthy communities
“The framework described in this report provides a way to understand the relationship between community conditions and health, analyzes the connections among all of the environmental factors that contribute to a healthy community, and identifies both protective and negative environmental effects on community health.”

August 15, 2008

by Rosanne Prinsen, MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Active transportation plan for Minden (S. Ontario)
This report explains the goal of raising the physical activity levels through active transportation (AT) promotion and planning in the Village of Minden.

Active transportation plan - Facility planning and design guidelines
This report focuses on specific design features that should be considered in the implementation of (an) AT Plan, as well as all new pedestrian, trail and cycling facilities in the Halifax Region.

Steps toward a walkable city
This document presents a proposed framework for creating a Toronto Walking Strategy and outlines potential actions that could implement the strategy. This is not the Walking Strategy. It’s a framework for discussion.

Why we need sidewalks

CHILDREN

Childhood obesity surveillance and prevention
Welcome to National Knowledge Week 2008: Childhood Obesity Surveillance and Prevention - Content page. To support the (UK)Government ambition to reduce the proportion of overweight and obese children the topic focus for knowledge week is: Childhood Obesity Surveillance and Prevention.

Menu of choices
Menu of Choices is an online resource that provides the latest quality information and supports to understand, plan and address healthy eating in the school community.

CONFERENCES

Research conference on food, nutrition, physical activity and cancer
November 5, 6 & 7, 2008, Capital Hilton Hotel, Washington DC. This conference is the premier scientific forum on the links between cancer and food, nutrition, weight management and physical activity.

ENVIRONMENT

Canadian network for human health and the environment
A Canadian-based network of non-governmental, research, health professional and policy organizations focusing on human health and the impacts of environmental exposures.

HEALTHY EATING

Designed for disease: The link between local food environments and obesity and diabetes
This document examines the relationships between retail food environments, obesity and diabetes, and community income. The study demonstrates that people who live near an abundance of fast-food restaurants and convenience stores compared to grocery stores and fresh produce vendors, have a significantly higher prevalence of obesity and diabetes.”

Healthy weight – It’s not a diet it’s a lifestyle
A new CDC web-site. “Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight isn't just about a "diet" or "program". It is part of an ongoing lifestyle that you can adopt now and stay with for years to come. A healthy weight contributes to good health now and as you age.” Includes an entire section on physical activity for healthy weight.

OLDER ADULTS

Older Americans 2008: Key indicators of well being
Lots of information here, including stats/analysis on leisure time physical activity.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Healthy eating active living convergence partnership: Working together to create healthy people in healthy places
The Healthy Eating Active Living Convergence Partnership is a collaboration of funders who have come together with the shared goal of changing policies and environments to better achieve the vision of healthy people living in healthy places.

Multilingual physical activity fact sheets
Fact sheets on walking, cycling, skating and more in Arabic and Chinese-Mandarin

Inaugural edition of the national library for public health newsletter
They have added two new focused topics to the library and one of them is physical activity.

US Bureau of labour statistics: Sport and exercise
What percentage of people (aged 15 years and older) who live in the United States participated in sports and exercise activities on an average day in recent years? About 16 percent. In comparison, consider that the number of people who watched television on an average day is roughly five times larger. These charts, which display data from the American Time Use Survey, take a closer look at people who spend time in sports and exercise activities.”

URBAN DESIGN

Built environment, adiposity, and physical activity in adults Aged 50–75
“Findings suggest the need for public health and city planning officials to address modifiable neighbourhood-level, built-environment characteristics to create more liveable residential communities aimed at both addressing factors that may influence unhealthy eating and promoting active, healthy lifestyles in this rapidly growing population.”

American Journal of Preventive Medicine Volume 35, Issue 1, July 2008, Pages 38-46
Fuzhong Li PhD, Peter A. Harmer PhD, MPH, Bradley J. Cardinal PhD, Mark Bosworth MS, Alan Acock PhD, Deborah Johnson-Shelton PhD and Jane M. Moore PhD

Promising strategies for creating healthy eating and active living environments
There is growing recognition that creating healthy places - neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces – is essential to supporting healthy eating and physical activity behaviors. The following document presents a comprehensive and cross-cutting review of policy, strategy, and program recommendations to create healthy eating and active living environments. This review draws from the most prominent and promising strategies for change at national, state, and local levels.

Roadmap to improving food and physical activity environments. Tips and tools from the healthy eating, active communities program
For a long time, strategies to prevent or reduce obesity and to increase healthy eating and physical activity have focused on individuals….. Increasing evidence, though, shows that focusing only on individuals’ behavior won’t work – not when people live in environments that make changing their behavior difficult or even impossible.

Strategies for enhancing the built environment to support healthy eating and active living
This brief outlines a range of organizational practices and public policies being considered to improve the built environment in support of healthy eating and regular physical activity. It reflects diverse perspectives of professionals and advocates working on various aspects of the built environment.

Walkability and body mass index density, design, and new diversity measures
“Rising rates of overweight and obesity in the U.S. have increased interest in community designs that encourage healthy weight. This study relates neighbourhood walkability—density, pedestrian-friendly design, and two novel measures of land-use diversity—to residents' excess weight.”

American Journal of Preventive Medicine Volume 35, Issue 3, September 2008, Pages 237-244 Ken R. Smith PhD, Barbara B. Brown PhD, Ikuho Yamada PhDd, Lori Kowaleski-Jones PhD, Cathleen D. Zick PhD and Jessie X. Fan PhD

WORKPLACE

http://www.bcbs.com/news/bluetvradio/workplace-wellness-programs/engaging-consumers-at-work-aggregate-report-employer-foru.pdf
Engaging Consumers@Work was established in 2006 as a research-based workplace initiative to study the impact of educational and activation program components on consumer/employee engagement in health.” (physical activity was one of the interventions)

Investing in health: Proven health promotion practices for workplaces
Investing in Health will help workplaces of all sizes choose effective health promotion practices at work. Includes information on “encouraging physical activity and healthy eating”.

Workplace physical activity FAQ
Provides answers to frequently asked questions about physical activity in the workplace.

June 12, 2008

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc, Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Cycling - Getting Australia moving: Barriers, facilitators and interventions to get more Australians physically active through cycling
This report has been developed to assist practitioners, policy makers and planners to increase adult physical activity levels through bicycle riding.

CHILDREN

Active and safe routes to school
Green Communities Canada, in partnership with Ecology Action in Nova Scotia, SHAPE Alberta; and the Way to Go! School Program in British Columbia, is launching School Travel Planning (STP). STP brings together community stakeholders to identify barriers to active transportation for each school and develop a written action plan.

Building solutions for preventing childhood obesity
Consisting of seven separate modules covering both nutrition and physical activity topics.

Children and nature network
The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) was created to encourage and support the people and organizations working to reconnect children with nature. C&NN provides access to the latest news and research in the field and a peer-to-peer network of researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated to children's health and well-being.

CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION

Influence of combined exercise training on indices of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetes patients
The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of combined exercise training on indices of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetes patients.

CONFERENCES

Active living research annual conference
The theme of the conference is Active Communities for Youth and Families: Creating Momentum for Change. February 18-20, 2009 in San Diego, CA.

HEALTH PROMOTION

From news to everyday use. The difficult art of implementation (Sweden)
Once new health–promoting methods have been presented, sometimes after years of research, it often takes a long time for them to come into daily use. This delay means that possible health gains are not achieved as quickly as we would perhaps like. The aim of this report is to facilitate the work of public health planners, prevention coordinators and others who sometimes face the challenge of disseminating and implementing new methods in the field of public health.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

How socio-economic status contributes to participation in leisure-time physical activity

Special issue of Canadian journal of public health
An issue focusing on the evaluation of the Canadian physical activity guides. Click on Supplement 2e under the 2007 heading.

Worldwide variability in physical inactivity: A 51-country survey

OLDER ADULTS

Group exercise can improve participants' mobility in an outpatient rehabilitation setting: a randomized controlled trial
The authors report that this short-duration circuit class programme improved mobility, but not strength.

Regular vigorous physical activity and disability development in healthy overweight and normal-weight seniors: A 13-year study
Public health efforts that promote physically active lifestyles among seniors may be more successful than those that emphasize body weight in the prevention of functional decline.

May 2, 2008

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc, Alberta Centre for Active Living

CHILDREN

Accessible play spaces
Annex H of the CSA playground standard that includes information for people who want to incorporate accessibility into new or redeveloped play spaces.

Creating active playgrounds in primary schools
This case study has demonstrated that a supportive process enables environmental changes to be undertaken in primary school playgrounds that may increase students' physical activity levels.

It's not about the weight: It's about the person
This presentation encourages the participation of overweight and obese youth in physical activity, explains how to use language and develop attitudes in activity instruction that support increased participation, and how to identify and address self-handicapping issues.

Residential proximity to school and the active travel choices of parents
Despite the overall low prevalence of walking to school by parents, health-enhancing benefits may be achieved even when other modes of transport are used in conjunction with walking.

The contribution of preschool playground factors in explaining children’s physical activity during recess
Discover which aspects of the playground environment are associated with increasing physical activity in pre-schoolers.

Value of playgrounds to children
An explanation of the value play spaces provide to children.

CONFERENCES

Ophea’s kids’ health conference - Building active healthy school communities
Alliston, Ontario, October 16-18, 2008.

HEALTH PROMOTION

Beyond masculine stereotypes: Moving men's health promotion forward in Australia
The health promotion community needs to critically reflect on theoretical commentary relating to hegemonic masculinity and, more recently, multiple masculinities. This will provide greater capacity to tailor health promotion interventions to the most disadvantaged and marginalised populations of men in Australia.

MENTAL HEALTH

Effects of a walking program in the psychiatric in-patient treatment setting: A cohort study
Introducing a program of walking in a psychiatric in-patient setting is a potentially low-cost, low-risk, well-tolerated intervention that may have benefits extending beyond mental health.

The relationship between organised physical recreation and mental health
A literature review was undertaken to explore evidence relating to the mental health benefits of participation in organised physical recreation.

NUTRITION

Eating and activity: the importance of family and environment
The aim of this paper was to examine the eating behaviours, physical exercise and television viewing of secondary school students, and to investigate their relationship with parental monitoring and family cohesion.

Translated Canada's food guides now available
Canada’s Food Guide is now available in 10 languages in addition to English and French. Translated directly from the 2007 Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide, they are available in Arabic, Chinese, Farsi (Persian), Korean, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, and Urdu.

OLDER ADULTS

Joint pain survey results
Results of an arthritis survey done by the Active Living Coalition for Older Adults. “The research examined Canadians' feelings and perceptions about active living - awareness and understanding of the benefits of active living, thoughts about changing activity levels as they age, and barriers to living an active life at any age.”

Stay active – Stay independent
This article provides an example of a physical activity promotional program effectively targeting a key age group demographic.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY GENERAL

Active living better practice case studies
Specific considerations to help create environments for active living are summarized for six key environments.

Participation in sports and physical recreation – Australia
Regular physical activity is beneficial to people's health and wellbeing. This article investigates the types of sports and physical recreation Australians engage in. Using data from the 2005–06 Multi-Purpose Household Survey, it focuses on the characteristics of participants as well as the main motivators for involvement and the main constraints given for not participating.

WOMEN

A brief report of attitudes towards physical activity during pregnancy
The study has clear indicators for developing education and health promotion programs that enable women to make informed choices about physical activity levels during pregnancy.

April 21, 2008

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc, Alberta Centre for Active Living

CHILDREN

An ounce of prevention revisited: A review of health promotion and selected outcomes for children and youth in BC schools.
http://kuuc.chair.ulaval.ca/url.php?i=4770&f=News&l=En
The overall health and well-being of B.C. students is improving thanks to efforts such as Healthy Schools and ActNow BC, but schools still need a more comprehensive approach to promoting health, according this report. An Ounce of Prevention Revisited explores how schools can work effectively to influence the health and well-being of young British Columbians. (Physical activity is mentioned 72 times.)

Developing physical literacy: A guide for parents of children ages 0 to 12 http://www.edmontonsport.com/pdf_folder/
Developing_Physical_Literacy.pdf
“....being physically active later in life depends on feeling confident in an activity setting; and that confidence, as an adult, most often comes from having learned fundamental movement and sport skills as a child. Therefore, to create an active and healthy population ALL Canadian children need a sound foundation of movement and sport skills to build on later in life; and this foundation is called Physical Literacy.......”

This paper covers the first 3 stages of the LTAD (long term athlete development) plan. If you are unfamiliar with it see http://www.ltad.ca/content/home.asp

Factors associated with children being driven to school: Implications for walk to school programs
http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/
AusPAnet_Article_Commentary_7
The study’s authors concluded that walk to school programs need to address the link between the parent journey to work and student journey to school, to be effective in increasing rates of active commuting.

Healthy settings for young people in Canada
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/
dca-dea/yjc/pdf/youth-jeunes-eng.pdf
This report examines smoking, alcohol and drug use, physical activity/body image, eating patterns, emotional health and injuries in children and youth aged 11 to 15. Some key findings indicate positive changes in the health behaviours and attitudes of young people since the last report in 2004.

Reach for the top: A report by the advisor on healthy children & youth
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/pubs/child-enfant/
advisor-conseillere/index_e.html
Physical activity is mentioned 95 times.

CONFERENCES

7th International Conference on Urban Health
http://www.icuh2008.com/
The conference theme is Knowledge Integration: Successful Interventions in Urban Health and we encourage delegates to move beyond description and to share with us their actions, which have improved health of urban communities. The theme was chosen to showcase action-oriented projects and best practices.

GENERAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Discussion paper: Defining sport and exercise, a conceptual model
http://tinyurl.com/4zsgzc
The discussion paper presents definitions of sport, exercise and physical recreation. It also examines the relationship between these overlapping concepts, and brings them together in a conceptual model. The model outlines what activities may be considered in scope for research on exercise, physical recreation and sport. (Physical activity is mentioned 137 times in 40 pgs of text)

Does getting a dog increase recreational walking?
http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/
AusPAnet_Article_Commentary_8
….this study provides evidence to suggest that dog acquisition leads to an increase in walking through behavioral intention via the dog’s positive effect on owner’s cognitive beliefs about walking, and through motivation and social support for walking.... (International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2008, 5:17)


HEALTH DETERMINANTS

Does your address determine your life span?
http://www.barhii.org/press/
download/barhii_report08.pdf
Most experts agree that health care con­tributes only about 10-15% to health outcomes and life span. Where you live is probably a bigger determinant of your health than whether you have health insurance. People who live in West Oakland, for example, can expect to live on average 10 years less than those who live in the Berkeley Hills……


HEALTH PROMOTION

Ontario health promotion – News from the field spring 2008
http://www.ohpe.ca/
Lots of news from the health promotion world, including a farewell to CHN.


WORKPLACE

Health work wellbeing
http://kuuc.chair.ulaval.ca/
url.php?i=4765&f=News&l=En
Health Work Wellbeing is a Government-led initiative to improve the health and wellbeing of working age people in UK. Founded on a growing evidence base that working is good for health, it brings together employers, unions and healthcare professionals in helping more people with health conditions to find and stay in employment.

April 4, 2008

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc, Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

City of Toronto walking strategy
http://www.toronto.ca/transportation/
walking/walking_strategy.htm

London vote on cycling May 1st
http://www.newstatesman.com/200803310004
“….they need to be behind cycling, because without a 400% increase in cycling from 2000 to 2025, the anticipated increase in population of one million will mean that London’s transport system will grind to a halt. Under Ken Livingstone cycling has soared by more than 83% in the capital…”

Walkable towns curb obesity, pollution, expert says
http://www.reuters.com/article/
healthNews/idUSCOL15888220080401
Jim Sallis is interviewed

Walking Englishman: Walk time calculator
http://www.walkingenglishman.com/walktime.aspx
Allows you to calculate how much time it will take you to walk to your destination.

CHILDREN

Government investment in childhood obesity strategy applauded
http://tinyurl.com/2ovphs
The Ontario Collaborative Group on Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (OCGHEPA) commends the government's significant investment in a strategy to reduce Ontario's childhood obesity rates.

CHRONIC DISEASE

The prevention of lifestyle-related chronic diseases: An economic framework
http://tinyurl.com/3468bv
This OECD paper provides an economic perspective on the prevention of chronic diseases, focusing in particular on diseases linked to lifestyle choices. (Physical Activity is mentioned a number of times)

CONFERENCES

2008 International congress on physical activity and public health
http://www.icpaph08.org/
Find out more about plans to form a new professional society - the International Society for Physical Activity and Health.

Recreation summit 2008
http://tinyurl.com/387kaf
May 16th & 17th – Australia. The Summit will bring together local, national and international enthusiasts on active recreation

GENERAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Adapted physical activity quarterly
http://www.humankinetics.com/
APAQ/currentIssue.cfm
The official journal of the international federation of adapted physical activity.

Adulthood lifetime physical activity and breast cancer
http://tinyurl.com/2k9maw
Conclusions: Leisure-time moderate-to-vigorous activities reduce breast cancer risk irrespective of underlying host characteristics.

Correlates of the stages of change for physical activity in a population survey
http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/
AJPH.2007.123075v1?papetoc

National association of counties: Active living survey (December 2007)
http://tinyurl.com/yvhln2

HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

How to create and implement healthy general plans: A toolkit for building healthy, vibrant communities through land use policy change
http://www.healthyplanning.org/healthygp_toolkit
/HealthyGP_Toolkit.pdf
“In recent years, the dramatic rise in chronic disease rates in cities and towns has begun to bring public health and planning back together…. planning and public health professionals have begun to promote design and development patterns that facilitate physical activity and neighborly interactions as antidotes….”

Increasing active living -a guide for policy-makers: Policy-making for healthy and active communities
http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/
activelivinglhc2007.pdf

Rural obesity: Strategies to support rural counties in building capacity
http://tinyurl.com/294b6v
Physical activity is mentioned prominently.

POPULATION HEALTH

Senate sub-committee on population health reports
http://tinyurl.com/2zqg9oThe 3rd and 4th reports were just published

March 28, 2008

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc, Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Be aware of cyclists
http://www.dothetest.co.uk/
Great cycling ad from the UK

Halifax Regional Municipality active transportation plan
http://www.halifax.ca/TDM/
activetransportation/index.html

CHILDREN

A comparative case study on active transport to and from school http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/
2008/apr/07_0064.htm
This study investigates active-transport-to-school initiatives through the Active Living by Design Community Action Model framework. The framework outlines five strategies that influence physical activity: preparation, promotion, programs, policies, and physical projects.

Not gonna kill you
http://www.notgonnakillyou.ca/
A new web-site managed by the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion. The target audience is youth.

Rural-urban differences in physical activity, physical fitness, and overweight prevalence of children
http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/
AusPAnet_Article_Commentary_7
This research looked at the differences in physical activity prevalence, physical fitness, and overweight levels of children living in urban, semi-urban and rural areas in Iowa in the United States.

Transition game
http://www.lin.ca/Files/10200/
Spelling.htm
“One of the greatest times of risk working with children and youth is a lull in classroom and recreation activities when your guard is down. A transition game can be a bridge between different classroom and recreation activities...”

WANTED: Schools to participate in the SMART tool Project
Ever Active Schools has teamed up with the Centre for Health Promotion – Children, Youth, and Women’s Health Service South Australia to pilot their SMART tool in 100 schools in Alberta. Ever Active Schools is currently seeking schools to participate in the SMART Tool Pilot Project. For more information or to participate in the project survey please contact Jardath Nelson at jnelson@brsd.ab.ca

CHRONIC DISEASE

The Sydney Resolution - February 2008
Healthy people in healthy places on a healthy planet
http://www.oxha.org/meetings/
08-summit/sydney-resolution
An advocacy call to take action to halt the impact of chronic disease.

CONFERENCES

Integrated Chronic Disease Prevention: Taking Action Together
http://www.cdpac.ca/conference/
content.php?sec=5
CDPAC 2008 Conference Ottawa November 26th – 28th.

GENERAL HEALTH

Health literacy and health promotion: A compilation
http://tinyurl.com/2pwrds
“Research shows a strong link between low health literacy and poor health, and that low health literacy may contribute to higher health service costs.”

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to build a healthier America
http://www.commissiononhealth.org/
AboutUs.aspx
“The Commission will look beyond the medical care system to investigate how factors such as education, environment, income, housing and personal health choices impact the health of all Americans.”

GENERAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Step conversion chart
http://www.corp.delta.bc.ca/stepsout/
steps_equivalencies.pdf
Comprehensive 12 page listing of conversions - with references to academic research. From the Delta, BC web-site.

Walking the way to health Wales
http://www.ww2h.org.uk/
Designed for health professionals.

MENTAL HEALTH

Physical activity and likelihood of depression in adults: A review.
http://tinyurl.com/2wvvpm
This review presents up to date evidence on the links between physical activity and the risks of developing depression.

MULTILINGUAL & MULTICULTURAL RESOURCES

Canadian Cancer Society
http://tinyurl.com/ypqvm6

Canadian Diabetes Association
http://www.diabetes.ca/
section_main/translations.asp

Cultural adaptations of Canada's food guide to healthy eating
http://www.nutritionrc.ca/guide.html

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
http://tinyurl.com/2y289p

Ontario Public Health Association: Physical activity guides
http://www.opha.on.ca/resources/
multilingual/physical.html

OLDER ADULTS

Community-wide campaign to promote activity among midlife & older adults: Lessons learned from AARP's Active for Life campaign and a synopsis of evidence-based interventions
http://assets.aarp.org/www.aarp.org_/
articles/health/pagefive.pdf
Find out what makes an effective physical activity campaign for adults over 50 years of age.