Physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide—inactivity has been shown to be responsible for 5.3 million deaths per year globally. 1 The fact that physical activity became a public health priority over the past few decades is strongly
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The Evolution of Physical Activity and Health Research in China: A Bibliometric Analysis of Study Areas and Sex Balance in Authorship
Kaiyue Zhang, Diana Morales, Junshi Chen, Wenhua Zhao, Anne Tang, Eduardo Kohn, Ding Ding, Andrea Ramirez Varela, Michael Pratt, and Pedro C. Hallal
American Kinesiology Association’s Role in Promoting School Physical Activity Policy
Monica A.F. Lounsbery and Thomas L. McKenzie
Sedentary living is a globally recognized public health problem ( World Health Organization, 2018a ), and we, along with others, have conducted multiple studies aimed at understanding and increasing population-level physical activity (PA) in both community and school settings. Though intervention
An Introduction to Parks, Recreation, and Public Health: Collaborative Frameworks for Promoting Physical Activity
John Librett, Karla Henderson, Geoffrey Godbey, and James R. Morrow Jr.
The purpose of parks and recreation as well as public health is to seek the highest possible quality of life for individuals and communities. Unfortunately, little discourse has occurred between the parks and recreation and public health professions. This missed opportunity has resulted in an incomplete understanding of the spectrum of issues shared by the fields, a slow transdisciplinary learning curve, and a dearth of knowledge-based linkages between science and practice. The goal of the 2006 Cooper Institute Conference on Parks, Recreation, and Public Health: Collaborative Frameworks for Promoting Physical Activity was to highlight opportunities and advance cooperation between parks, recreation, and public health researchers and practitioners that result in collaborations that influence public health decisions at the macro (agency) and micro (individual) levels. This article introduces the discussion on scientific and practice issues in parks, recreation, and public health. By establishing a baseline of frameworks for strengthening collaboration we hope to improve the health and quality of life through parks and recreation-based physical activity.
Volume 7 (2010): Issue s3 (Jan 2010): The Third International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health
jpah Journal of Physical Activity and Health 1543-3080 1543-5474 3 1 2010 7 s3 10.1123/jpah.2010.7.issue-s3 The Third International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health Toronto, May 5–8, 2010; Guest Editor: Peter T. Katzmarzyk Introduction 10.1123/jpah.7.s3.s281 Keynote Lectures 10
Designing Active Communities: A Coordinated Action Framework for Planners and Public Health Professionals
Kim Bergeron and Lucie Lévesque
Background:
Community design can have a positive or negative influence on the physical activity level of residents. The complementary expertise of professionals from both planning and public health is needed to build active communities. The current study aimed to develop a coordinated framework for planners and public health professionals to enhance the design of active communities.
Methods:
Planners and public health professionals working in Ontario, Canada were recruited to participate in a concept mapping process to identify ways they should work together to enhance the design of active communities.
Results:
This process generated 72 actions that represent collaborative efforts planners and public health professionals should engage in when designing active communities. These actions were then organized by importance and feasibility. This resulted in a coordinated action framework that includes 19 proximal and 6 distal coordinated actions for planners and public health professionals.
Conclusion:
Implementation of the recommended actions has the potential to make a difference in community design as a way to enhance physical activity in community members. This Coordinated Action Framework provides a way to address physical inactivity from an environmental and policy standpoint.
Physical Activity Level and Specific Type of Exercises Among US Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Findings From the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey
Ashley Kuzmik, Marie Boltz, Kyungha Kim, Yining Ma, Xingran Weng, and Li Wang
public health concern. 7 Some individual barriers to physical activity among middle-aged and older adults include poor health, costs, lack of time, weather, fear of injury, and limited type of exercises available and feasible. 8 – 10 Environmental barriers to physical activity for middle-aged and older
Perspectives of Public Health and Leisure Studies on Determinants of Physically Active Leisure
Barbara E. Ainsworth, Roger C. Mannell, Timothy K. Behrens, and Linda L. Caldwell
Public health has historically been concerned with eliminating factors associated with disease, disability, and early mortality, whereas leisure studies has emerged from the need to create and manage recreational opportunities and promote leisure activities and experiences. Coincidently, both fields have progressed toward an appreciation of the role of active leisure in enhancing a population’s health and well-being. Factors associated with making choices to be physically active in leisure time are complex and multidimensional. This paper provides historical perspectives from public health and leisure studies (i.e., parks and recreation), describes models used to understand physically active leisure from both fields, and suggests direction for future collaborative research between public health and parks, recreation, and leisure researchers.
The Ciclovía-Recreativa: A Mass-Recreational Program With Public Health Potential
Olga Sarmiento, Andrea Torres, Enrique Jacoby, Michael Pratt, Thomas L. Schmid, and Gonzalo Stierling
Background:
The Ciclovía-Recreativa is a free, community-based program in which streets are closed temporarily to motorized transport, allowing access to walkers, runners, rollerbladers, and cyclists only. We assessed existing information about the Ciclovía as a public health strategy and proposed next steps for research and public health practice.
Methods:
We conducted a systematic search of peer-reviewed and other literature, which was complemented by expert interviews and consultation.
Results:
We reviewed 38 Ciclovías from 11 countries. Most programs (84.2%) take place in urban settings. The programs range from 18−64 events per year (54 ± 24.6; 52 [mean ± standard deviation; median]) with events lasting from 2−12 hours (6 ± 2.4; 6). The length of the streets ranges from 1−121 km (14.6 ± 22.1; 7), and the estimated number of participants per event ranges from 60-1,000,000 persons (61,203 ± 186,668; 3810). Seventy-one percent of the programs include physical activity classes and in 89% of the Ciclovías, the streets are connected with parks.
Conclusions:
Ciclovías have potential for positive public health outcomes, but evidence on their effectiveness is limited. The different stages of new and established programs offer a unique opportunity for transnational studies aimed at assessing their public health impact.
Recreation, Parks, and the Public Health Agenda: Developing Collaborative Surveillance Frameworks to Measure Leisure Time Activity and Active Park Use
Judy Kruger, Andrew J. Mowen, and John Librett
Background:
The purposes of this study were to review surveillance of recreation and park use to determine adaptations for tracking leisure time physical activity and increasing collaboration to achieve public health goals.
Methods:
Surveillance in public health and parks and recreation and discussions at the 2006 Cooper Institute conference were reviewed.
Results:
This review suggested four actions to improve collaborative surveillance of leisure time physical activity and active park use. The proposals are to incorporate more detailed measures of leisure time physical activity and active park visits into park surveillance; include key park, recreation, and leisure items in public health surveillance; assess active park visits and leisure time physical activity more frequently; and establish public health physical activity objectives for parks and recreation and outdoor recreation participation.
Conclusions:
These proposals can facilitate collaboration between public health and parks and recreation and exploration of active park use and outdoor recreation in relation to health.
Breaking Barriers: An Innovative Tool to Assess the National and City-Level Physical Activity Policy Development to Practice Disconnect
Eugen Resendiz, Andrea Ramírez-Varela, Juliana Mejía-Grueso, Jane Moon, Josef Mitáš, Ross C. Brownson, Deborah Salvo, and Michael Pratt
United Nations Children’s Fund) as well as public health scientists have advocated for the recognition of access to active lifestyle opportunities as a human right. 2 – 6 Despite physical activity known benefits, physical inactivity remains a global pandemic, with 28% of adults and 81% of adolescents
