The Journal of Physical Activity and Health (JPAH) is proud to announce its initial Impact Factor, as assigned by Thomson Reuters. In September 2011, the journal received an Impact Factor of 1.857, placing it comfortably in the upper half of the field for journals in the Public, Environmental, and Occupational Health category.
“This is another positive step for JPAH and for the field of physical activity and health,” says current JPAH co-Editor-in-Chief Harold W. Kohl, III. “Journal prestige will help the field to continue to grow and mature.”
“This is a nice place to start, as we are ranked above journals with longer tenure and who publish more frequently than JPAH,” says co-Editor-in-Chief Jennifer M. Hootman.
JPAH was founded in 2004, when it began as a quarterly publication. The journal now publishes eight times per year and has seen its published articles grow from 30 articles in 2004 to more than 175 in 2011. Such growth has displayed the dire need in the fields of Kinesiology and Public Health for an interdisciplinary journal devoted to publishing original research related to physical activity assessment, surveillance, and practice. JPAH is a truly global journal, publishing research by leading scholars from all six major continents.
“Starting a scientific journal is not an easy task,” says JPAH founding co-Editor-in-Chief James R. Morrow, Jr. “Human Kinetics observed the exponential growth in scientific inquiry related to physical activity, as an exposure and an outcome, and took steps that have impacted the field. The growth of JPAH has been significant and it is now the ‘go-to journal’ for those studying physical activity. In eight short years, the Editors, the Editorial Board, reviewers, and authors have made JPAH the physical activity journal with the best impact—regardless of the number—for those interested in physical activity as an exposure, outcome, or for surveillance.”
In an editorial commentary in the journal’s first issue, Morrow and founding co-Editor-in-Chief Steven N. Blair asked whether the field needed another new journal? They answered “yes,” and set a lofty goal for the journal: to become the first choice for those conducting research on the relationship between physical activity and health. With the achievement of JPAH’s first Impact Factor, a significant rating for such a young, up-and-coming journal, it is clear that JPAH has indeed achieved that goal.
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