November 7, 2008

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION
Active Transportation for America: A Case for Increased Federal Investment in Bicycling and Walking
This report quantifies the transportation, energy, climate, public health, and economic benefits of bicycling and walking.

Safe routes to school: Increases physical activity and improves health
The following four case studies showcase local communities that have successfully incorporated SRTS as a way to improve public health, and have institutionalized SRTS at select schools. Aspects of these case studies also address how health professionals are
getting involved with SRTS efforts, how federally mandated Wellness Councils could be involved, and how these types of collaborations could be increased in the future.

CHILDREN
At my best: Helping every child thrive
Physical and Health Education Canada (formerly CAHPERD) teamed up with AstraZeneca Canada to unveil a groundbreaking children's wellness program. Aimed at improving the health and well-being of Canadian children, At My Best™ is a unique school-based program that focuses on three key areas of wellness: physical, nutritional and emotional health.

Changes in food and drink advertising and promotion to children: a report outlining the changes in the nature and balance of food and drink advertising and promotion to children, from January 2003 to December 2007
This report sets out the current restrictions for broadcast and non-broadcast media; the findings of the Thomson Intermedia research on overall food and drink advertising spend across a range of media, child-themed ad-spend and TV viewing figures; and the output of the Food and Drink Advertising and Promotion Forum.

The characteristics of the outdoor school environment associated with physical activity.
Ellen Haug, Torbjørn Torsheim, James F. Sallis and Oddrun Samdal
Health Education Research – Advance Access.
Discover what's important in the school environment to encourage physical activity.

Successful overweight prevention in adolescents by increasing physical activity: A 4-year randomized controlled intervention.
International Journal of Obesity, 2008; 32, 1489–1498. C Simon, B Schweitzer, M Oujaa, A Wagner.
This study provides strong evidence of the positive effects of a long-term school-based physical activity program on preventing obesity, increasing physical activity and reducing TV viewing.

HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
Improved methods for assessing social, cultural, and economic effects of transportation projects
This report identifies existing and emerging community and social impact assessment practices that can be used as indicators of community quality of life. Physical Activity is mentioned 22 times. Includes a copy of their survey instrument and many useful maps/graphics.

Smart transportation guidebook: Planning and Designing Highways and Streets that Support Sustainable and Livable Communities
Smart Transportation proposes to manage capacity by better integrating land use and transportation planning. The desire to go “through” a place must be balanced with the desire to go “to” a place.

HEALTH GENERAL
The last straw: A board game on the social determinants of health
The Last Straw! is a fun and exciting teaching tool on the social determinants of health. The game has three objectives: to promote discussion about the social determinants of health; to help players build empathy with marginalized people and gain an awareness of players' own social location; to encourage learning in a fun and supportive environment.

MISCELLANEOUS
Vancouver Island University aims to be international centre of excellence in leisure studies
In its bid to become an international centre of excellence in leisure studies VIU, formerly Malaspina University) attended the World Leisure Congress in Quebec City this month and presented the idea of offering a master’s in leisure and sustainability degree.

OLDER ADULTS
Canadian falls prevention curriculum
The Canadian Falls Prevention Curriculum (CFPC) was developed and pilot-tested as a training curriculum for those working in the area of falls prevention among older adults (those 65 and over).

Occupational therapy interventions and physical activity interventions to promote the mental wellbeing of older people in primary care and residential care
This guidance focuses on the role of occupational therapy interventions and physical activity interventions in the promotion of mental wellbeing for older people.

OVERWEIGHT/OBESITY
How do you measure up?
TV adverts for this new obesity social marketing campaign from the Australian Better Health Initiative

Obesity in children. Part 1: Epidemiology, measurement, risk factors, and screening
The authors based this review on relative national guidance and a literature search in a number of databases. They concluded that the obesity epidemic is primarily due to population changes in physical activity and diet although other genetic factors may be involved. They do not recommend screening for childhood obesity.

Obesity in children. Part 2: Prevention and management
The authors based this review on relative national guidance and a literature search in a number of databases. They concluded that a number of interventions are not effective when applied to children. More work needs to be done on the overall effectiveness and cost effectiveness of interventions when applied to children.

Social and environmental interventions to reduce childhood obesity : A systematic map of reviews
This report describes a systematic map of existing research relating to social and environmental interventions aimed at reducing or preventing obesity and overweight. Its focus is on research which has included children and young people.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Four commonly used methods to increase physical activity : brief interventions in primary care, exercise referral schemes, pedometers and community-based exercise programmes for walking and cycling
This guidance aims to help practitioners deliver effective interventions that will increase people’s physical activity levels and therefore benefit their health.

Sedentary living laboratory
The focus of research for this (University of Alberta) lab is to identify and understand the factors that contribute to sedentary behaviour.

Social marketing nutrition and physical activity
A new online social marketing course developed by the Centre of Disease Control and Prevention.

Tips for getting active
From the Australian “how do you measure up?” web-site. Includes an on-line physical activity quiz.

What Sport Can Do: The True Sport Report
http://www.truesport.ca/files/tsreport/TS_report_EN_webdownload.pdf
Physical activity is mentioned 82 times in this 97 page report.

RESEARCHER TOOLS
Re-aim
RE-AIM is a systematic way for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to evaluate health behavior interventions. It can be used to estimate the potential impact of interventions on public health.

URBAN DESIGN

Promoting and creating built or natural environments that encourage and support physical activity
This guidance offers the first national, evidence-based recommendations on how to improve the physical environment to encourage physical activity. It demonstrates the importance of such improvements and the need to evaluate how they impact on the public's health.

June 5, 2008

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc, Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE LIVING

Health, place and nature
How outdoor environments influence health and well-being: a knowledge base…. Research from across Europe found people living in areas with high levels of greenery to be three times more likely to be physically active and 40 per cent less likely to be overweight or obese than those living in areas with low levels of greenery.

CHILDREN/YOUTH

Alberta nutritional guidelines for children and youth
Alberta is the first province to create a nutrition guidelines resource specifically for caregivers operating childcare facilities, schools and recreation centres where Alberta’s children learn, gather and play.......

Federal-Provincial-Territorial sport ministers meeting
Federal-Provincial-Territorial Governments to boost aboriginal participation in sport, set physical activity targets for children and youth, and encourage action to reduce violence in sport.

Kid’s sports
This article examines trends in regular organized sports participation of children aged 5 to 14. It also looks at the factors that influence children’s participation in sports including parental involvement in sports, sociodemographic characteristics of the family, and geography.

Study finds positive link between childhood nutrition & literacy
What our children eat affects more than their health - it impacts their future. New research has shown that overall diet quality affects academic performance.

CHRONIC DISEASE

Designed for disease: The link between local food environments and obesity and diabetes
The study 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.

Diabetes in America
Public knowledge, perceptions and behavior regarding diabetes and diabetes prevention. A societal barometer. The report presents the findings of a quantitative survey research program….

The prevention of lifestyle-related chronic diseases: An economic framework
This 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.)

COMMUNITY

Local governments and schools: A community-oriented approach
This guide offers strategies for how local governments and schools can bring their respective planning efforts together to take a more community oriented approach to schools and reach multiple community goals—educational, environmental, economic, social, and fiscal.

HEALTH CARE

A look at national health care systems around the world
There has been much discussion about the merits of different systems around the world. This is a March 2008 Executive Summary on the topic.

Health Canada web-site changes
Health Canada has updated the look of their web-site. Please note, "Due to new file naming requirements, the URLs for each page of our Web site have been changed."
Check the links on your web-sites and personal favorites.... they will have to be updated.

OLDER ADULTS

Centre for policy on ageing (UK)

Continuous-scale physical functional performance test
The CS-PFP is based on ordinary activities of daily life, performed at maximal effort within the bounds of safety and comfort. It requires standard conditions and utilizes a scripted dialogue. All tasks are quantified by time, distance, or weight.

Lifetime homes, lifetime neighbourhoods: A national strategy for housing in an ageing society (UK)
Includes chapters on providing for people with disabilities, lifetime homes, lifetime neighbourhoods and more.

Preventing falls among seniors
This article outlines the ways seniors and professionals can work to lower the risk of falls. Statistics on falls are highlighted, followed by fall risk factors and interventions to prevent falls.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Low-income groups and behaviour change interventions: A review of intervention content and effectiveness
This review focuses on interventions specifically targeted at low-income populations – one index of disadvantage. It includes three targeted behaviors related to health: smoking, healthy eating and physical activity.

Physical activity and sport act (2003, c. 2)
This act is current to May 9th, 2008. If you are initially directed to an “update notice” page don’t fret, just click on the link on the page titled -> return to http:// …… ‘

STATISTICS

Commonly used public health statistics and their confidence intervals
A technical briefing produced by the Association of Public Health Observatories (APHO), designed to support public health practitioners and analysts and to promote the use of public health intelligence in decision making.

In this briefing we describe the calculation of the more common types of statistics used within public health intelligence, specifically: rates, proportions, means and age-standardized rates and ratios. We also describe the use of confidence intervals......snip

WORKPLACE

Promoting physical activity in the workplace: Intervention guidance on workplace health promotion with reference to physical activity
This guidance is for employers and professionals in small, medium and large organisations who have a direct or indirect role in, and responsibility for, improving health in the workplace. The guidance complements and supports, but does not replace, NICE guidance on: physical activity and the environment, workplace smoking and obesity.

May 20, 2008

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc, Alberta Centre for Active Living

Active Living

Active living approaches by local government, 2007

Active living in diverse and disadvantaged communities
This is the April Issue of the Journal of Preventive Medicine, it has an active living theme.

Active Transportation

Ciclovia in Bogota, Columbia
Ciclovia is a weekly event in which over 70 miles of city streets are closed to traffic where residents come out to walk, bike, run, skate, recreate, picnic, and talk with family, neighbors & strangers.

Global alliance for EcoMobility
A cross-sectoral partnership for the integrated promotion of walking, cycling, wheeling and use of public transport to improve health and the urban environment, to mitigate global climate change.

Healthy transportation network
Educational tools, success stories, and resources to help you promote safe walking and bicycling in your communities.

Children

Alberta project promoting active living & healthy eating
Also know as the APPLE schools program, it is designed to create a culture of health promotion in local elementary schools, in order to combat the effects of poor nutrition on the learning process.

Healthy eating, Active communities
Healthy Eating, Active Communities aims to fight the growing childhood obesity epidemic in California and to develop state policy changes that will reduce the risk factors for diabetes and obesity.

Let them be kids
A nation-wide program that helps communities build playgrounds in areas of need, while also building community capacity amongst citizens and laying a strong foundation for a brighter tomorrow.

Physical activity and neighbourhood resources in high school girls
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between selected neighbourhood physical activity resources and physical activity levels in high school girls.

Preschool children and physical activity: A review of correlates
A literature search was conducted to identify studies that investigated correlates of preschool children's physical activity. Data were collected and analyzed in 2007.

Walking school bus becomes streets ahead
VicHealth developed the Streets Ahead program in 2008 to build on the successes of the Walking School Bus (WSB) program to allow for the development of more comprehensive and flexible children’s independent mobility demonstration projects….

Conferences

British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health (BHFNC)
The conference (Wednesday November 19th 2008) aims to provide practical examples, solutions and guidance on how to engage inactive communities in physical activity.

Environment

Associations of neighbourhood greenness with physical and mental health: do walking, social coherence and local social interaction explain the relationships?
Perceived neighbourhood greenness was more strongly associated with mental health than it was with physical health. Recreational walking seemed to explain the link between greenness and physical health, whereas the relationship between greenness and mental health was only partly accounted for by recreational walking and social coherence. The restorative effects of natural environments may be involved in the residual association of this latter relationship.

Climate change and sport and recreation
How climate change could affect sport and recreation now and in the future.

Recreational values of the natural environment in relation to neighbourhood satisfaction, physical activity, obesity and wellbeing
Immediate access to natural environments with high recreational values was rare in the study population and was distributed in an inequitable manner. Moreover, such access was associated with a positive assessment of neighbourhood satisfaction and time spent on physical activity, which can be expected to reduce obesity and increase vitality by having a buffering effect on stress.

Nutrition

Webcast symposium on research results from the CCHS cycle 2.2, nutrition focus
This symposium (May 29th 1-5pm EDT) will provide an introduction to the CCHS 2.2 datasets and presentations by leading academic researchers of the latest research results. There will be panel discussion on the dietary recall data as well as on food security issues.

Obesity

Messages about obesity – Making them stick
A recent literature search on obesity messaging.

Older Adults

Prospective association between physical activity and falls in community-dwelling older women
The results suggest that at least daily moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity is required for the primary prevention of falls to the ground and fractured bones in women aged 70–75 years.

Physical Activity General

California Centre for Physical Activity
The California Center for Physical Activity creates opportunities for everyday activity by connecting partners to active living resources and helping develop more walkable and bikeable communities.

SummerActive – May 8th to June 20th
Through our SummerActive initiative, you’ll find the opportunities and information you need to get physically active, eat healthily, live tobacco-free and participate in sport opportunities.

Recreation

The potential of parks and recreation in addressing physical activity and fitness
The article summarizes current research on the relationship between physical activity and parks & recreation.

Urban Planning

A resident's guide for creating safe and walkable communities
This guide provides examples from communities that are working to improve pedestrian safety.

How to create and implement healthy general plans
A toolkit for building healthy, vibrant communities through land use policy change.

Planning for healthy places
They develop toolkits, factsheets, model policies, and trainings for practitioners and advocates in the relationship between the built environment and public health, and provide technical assistance for creating and implementing land use and economic development policies that support healthier communities.

Women

Physical activity in older women: associations with area deprivation and with socioeconomic position over the life course: observations in the British Women’s Heart and Health Study
Adverse socioeconomic position across the life-course is associated with an increased cumulative risk of low physical activity in older women. Reducing socioeconomic inequalities across the life course would thus be expected to improve levels of physical activity and the associated health benefits in later life.

Workplace

Changes in leisure time and occupational physical activity over 8 years: the Cornellè Health Interview Survey Follow-Up Study
While changes in physical activity are evident in this population-based cohort, no clear determinants of such changes were recognized. Further longitudinal studies including other potential individual and contextual determinants are needed to better understand determinants of changes in physical activity at the population level.

Healthy active workplaces (W. Australia)
A web-resource from the Government of Western Australia. Includes information on a Healthy Active Workplace Initiative.

Healthy Minnesota workplace initiative
The toolkit is a one-stop-shop for wellness coordinators charged with improving the health of their workforce.

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 11, 2008

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc, Alberta Centre for Active Living

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Special issue of preventive medicine
http://tinyurl.com/4x7rbf
The January 2008 special issue of Preventive Medicine (Volume 46, Issue 1: pp. 1-84) focuses on self-transportation, public transportation, and health. Many of these articles are related to physical activity. Access is free.

BEHAVIOUR CHANGE

Choosing health: Making healthy choices easier:
Executive summary
http://tinyurl.com/2mld8w
Physical activity is mentioned many times.

Kings fund - Kicking bad habits: Resources
http://tinyurl.com/3nja27
Many interesting behavior change papers here.

Low-income groups and behavior change interventions:
A review of intervention content and effectiveness
http://tinyurl.com/4jlhob
Many physical activity interventions are included.

Partnerships for better health - Small change, big difference
http://tinyurl.com/2smqws
The Partnerships for Better Health report highlights the government's role in influencing non-statutory, commercial and not-for-profit sectors in securing public health goals. Through the report, case studies and best practice tips we are encouraging the greater use of such partnerships for health at a local level.

CHILDREN

Active education: Physical education, physical activity and academic performance
http://tinyurl.com/3wpvy4
It “summarizes peer-reviewed research on the relationship between physical activity and academic performance among children and adolescents”.

Childhood obesity
http://tinyurl.com/4kv5em
Facts and statistics (USA)

Childhood obesity toolkit
http://tinyurl.com/4pknny
“This Tool Kit provides (USA) policymakers with resources, data, trends and examples of solutions being implemented or considered by states and legislators across the country that aim to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic.”

Designing for active living among children
http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/builtdesign.pdf

Increasing preschoolers' physical activity intensities:
An activity-friendly preschool playground intervention
http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/AusPAnet
_Article_Commentary_3
Find out how to effectively increase physical activity in preschoolers.

Promoting good nutrition and physical activity in child-care settings
http://tinyurl.com/4rgg9o

Push play parents (New Zealand)
http://www.sparc.org.nz/getting-active
/push-play-parents
"....ideas to help you get your kids moving. Choose the age group that applies to your child and you'll be well on your way to becoming a Push Play Parent."

Unplug and play - Parent campaign (Australia)
http://tinyurl.com/ytvysd
The Unplug + Play Parent Campaign targets parents in Western Australia, to increase their awareness of the urgent need for children to spend more time in active play and less time using TV, electronic games and the Internet for entertainment.

CHRONIC DISEASE

Talking points on preventing disease through physical activity
http://tinyurl.com/2gxlb5
“Describes the effects of being inactive, benefits of PA, associated disparities, and action items for state legislators.”

Trends alert: Cost of chronic disease
http://tinyurl.com/469too
From the USA – published in 2006

GENERAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Balance: a report on state action to promote nutrition,
increase physical activity and prevent obesity
http://www.healthyeatingresearch.org/
uploads/Balance122006.pdf

CDC community health resources
http://www.cdc.gov/communityhealthresources
The site features direct links to hundreds of resources, including program guidelines and recommendations, campaign materials, handbooks, fact sheets, evaluation frameworks, and behavioral and risk factor data, among other topics. For physical activity information, click on "Physical Activity" under "Browse by health topic."

Getting to know the competition: A content analysis
of publicly and corporate funded physical activity advertisements
http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/AusPAnet
_Article_Commentary_4
Learn more about what was discovered when a content analysis of physical activity advertisements was carried out.

HEALTH PROMOTION

Ontario prevention clearinghouse now the Health Nexus
http://www.healthnexus.ca
Effective April 1, 2008 the Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse became Health Nexus. This is a bilingual web-site.

OLDER ADULTS

Keeping the aging population healthy
http://tinyurl.com/53a4fr
“This (USA)Legislator Policy Brief provides policymakers with key information to develop strategies to enhance health and preserve independence in the growing aging population.”

Silversneakers fitness program
http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2008/
jan/07_0148.htm
A CDC-funded study conducted by Group Health and the University of Washington reports that older adults who participated in the SilverSneakers Fitness Program visited their primary and specialty physicians more often, were admitted to the hospital less, and had lower overall healthcare costs compared to a control group of over 9,000 people who were the same age and gender.

WOMEN

Physical activity, pregnancy & postpartum inventory of resources
http://tinyurl.com/3vak8o

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