Physical Activity
Section Newsletter
Winter 2010

APHA NOMINATING COMMITTEE SEEKS POTENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR APHA LEADERSHIP POSITIONS IN 2010

As I'm sure you know, the next APHA Annual Meeting is Nov. 6-10, 2010, in Denver.

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A WINTER HIKING TRADITION

Ernie Medina, Jr., DrPH

emedinajr@mac.com

At 5:30 a.m., on Jan. 1, 2010, a group of just over 40 people gathered at the base of Blue Mountain, in Grand Terrace, Calif. The goal was to get to the top of the 2-mile hike before sunrise. This has been an annual tradition of mine for the last 20 years, and this year, it was one of the biggest groups yet. The full "blue moon" was so bright that we didn't need flashlights to see the path. While only two miles to the top, there are quite a few steep sections that will get you breathing a bit hard. Once at the top, we had enough time to have an inspirational talk by Pastor John Choi, take a group picture, and pass out Dixie cups and sparkling cider for the toast as the sun rose above the faraway mountain range.

For the first time, we had a noon hike for those who couldn't get up early enough for the sunrise hike (this was suggested by my wife and daughter, who joined us on the noon hike). This group also numbered just over 40 people, with more kids and dogs on this hike. The temperature was perfect, and the view was great from the top. We had our group picture and toast with more sparkling cider before heading back down. To see more pictures, go to PhysicalActivityEvangelist.blogspot.com. I can't think of a better way to start the new year than getting a great workout with a bunch of family and friends!

A shot of our noon hike group at the top of Blue Mountain, Grand Terrace, Calif.

Both our dogs made the noon hike. I'm here with Roxy, a dog we adopted from the shelter. Davy, our Yorkie, also made the hike.

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NEW TECHNOLOGY COMBATS CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Artie Kamiya

Artie@greatactivities.net

Responding to the nation's obesity trends, 12 school districts across the United States are implementing a new, research-based program to determine the impact of aligning K-12 P.E. programs to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s four national goals.

Early findings from a new national physical education study demonstrate the predictive relationships between the adoption of Secretary Arne Duncan’s Four Goals and recommended obesity prevention health behaviors. These Four Goals are the adoption of rigorous curriculum standards, recruiting and retaining effective teachers, building statewide student data systems, and turning around low-performing schools.  The preliminary results of data collected from more than 40,000 elementary and secondary students suggest the importance of implementing Secretary Duncan’s recommendations for all subject areas, including K-12 physical education programs.

"It appears that much can be done within existing physical education programs, with the proper support, to bring about positive changes for children and youth," said Artie Kamiya, a nationally recognized physical education curriculum expert. "When school districts align their physical education programs in the full adoption of Secretary Duncan’s recommendations, good things can happen.”

An analysis of data collected from 21,700 surveys of elementary children and 21,941 surveys of secondary school youth indicate that physical educators who implement a more rigorous and consistent curriculum show their physical education classes are deemed more enjoyable and satisfying to students, demonstrate higher levels of physical activity, stronger nutritional behaviors, and have a greater tendency to practice obesity prevention behaviors as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Over the next two to three years, the 12 school districts will continue to implement a variety of recommendations including the implementation of a K-12 tracking and monitoring data system, creation of Virtual P.E. Training Centers at local colleges and universities, required staff development for teachers, and the implementation of a Coordinated School Health Programs approach in helping to turn around low-performing schools.

"Again, the goal is to increase those positive health behavior changes for all students and to determine if parent support, the implementation of a standardized curriculum, and the introduction of the ability to track students on core physical education standards has the type of impact we hope it will have," Kamiya said.

The Virtual P.E. Administrator was developed and designed to be a school district and state-level solution by providing a pre-loaded set of grade-by-grade physical education “Power Standards” aligned to the National Association for Sport and Physical Education and CDC-recommended physical activity and nutrition student behaviors. 

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CONNECTING COMMUNITIES AND STIMULATING WELLNESS WITH THE MONTANA RURAL HEALTH INITIATIVE

Shalina Mirza, Project Coordinator

Montana Office of Rural Health, Montana AHEC Program Office

Shalina.mirza@montana.edu

The Montana Rural Health Initiative (RHI) is committed to stimulating a higher level of wellness, engaging multiple partners and creating a dynamic network that links community-based health, wellness and prevention initiatives throughout the state.

The RHI has designed a dynamic, interactive Web site to share ideas and expertise about health to help prevent disease and promote wellness across Montana. The Web site includes stories about local health, wellness and prevention initiatives, a calendar of events, a database of leaders and other resources. The Web site serves as an online community and network of information to promote healthy strategies that are working in Montana.

The Montana RHI recently released a new program for rural communities called the Incubator. This program focuses on helping communities hatch and grow projects that aim to improve community health and wellness, while reducing incidence of obesity and related diseases. Incubator projects are currently supporting a feasibility study for the development of a Safe Routes to School Program, a trail system and a community garden.

For more information on the Montana Rural Health Initiative, please visit www.montanaruralhealthinitiative.org.

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TWENTIETH ANNUAL APHA PUBLIC HEALTH MATERIALS CONTEST

The APHA Public Health Education Health Promotion Section is soliciting your best health education, promotion and communication materials for the 20th annual competition. The contest provides a forum to showcase public health materials during the APHA Annual Meeting and recognizes professionals for their hard work.

All winners will be selected by panels of expert judges prior to the 138^th APHA Annual Meeting in Denver.  A session will be held at the Annual Meeting to recognize winners, during which one representative from the top materials selected in each category will give a presentation about their material.

Entries will be accepted in three categories; printed materials, electronic materials, and other materials.  Entries for the contest are due by March 26, 2010. 

Please contact Kira McGroarty at kmcgroar@jhsph.edu for additional contest entry information. 

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A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

As a member of the PA SPIG, your involvement is critical to its growth and success.  In the near future, you will receive a request to complete an electronic survey.  That survey will ask about your interests in opportunities for service within the PA SPIG.  There will be many avenues in which one can serve, and everyone should seriously consider at least one way they can be of assistance in helping the PA SPIG achieve its goals.  I know that our members have a wealth of experience, expertise and personal skills and talents.  The sharing of those will be greatly needed and appreciated.  I will also add that the leadership team and those members that have already stepped forward to volunteer are fabulous and friendly people and a great joy to work with.  The bottom line is that the PA SPIG is a collection of a fun group of people!  Please respond to the survey when it arrives. Thank you for your participation in advanc and I look forward to your engagement.

Steven P. Hooker, PhD, Chair

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FILLING THE FITNESS GAP WITH STRUCTURED FITNESS WALKS IN THE BIG GREEN GYM

Nancy Bruning, MPH

nbfitinthecity@aol.com

We’ve heard them all – “I hate the gym,” “ I can’t afford to join a gym,” “I don’t like exercise,” “I’m not motivated to exercise on my own,” “I don’t know what to do,” “Walking is boring,” “I’m afraid to go out in the park alone.”

As a public health professional with a particular interest in obesity, a certified personal trainer with a bit of a health club burnout, and president of a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase the use of parks, I had been looking for a way to bring my experiences and passions to a focus in a way that had maximum impact.

In 2004, I found that synergy and launched a pilot program, “Fitness Walking in Fort Tryon Park.” In the six years since that launch, I’ve learned that structured fitness walks in local parks – if thoughtfully designed, staffed, and promoted – can indeed address most, if not all, of the commonly stated fitness obstacles for many people. And my research revealed there was an extra bonus: when physical activity takes place outdoors in groups, we increase the benefits of physical activity to our bodies, minds, and psyches – at no extra cost.

The walks are not just a walk in the park! After the gathering and sign-in, we begin with a warm up, follow that with an aerobic/strengthening segment, and finish with a cool down/stretching segment. All three segments include balance and coordination exercises as well.

Happily, we require no dedicated equipment to achieve a full body workout – we just use what the park offers: paths, steps, stone walls, benches, and one or two items in the playground. We’re fortunate in that Fort Tryon Park is quite beautiful, well-maintained, large (67 acres), and is situated on a cliff overlooking the Hudson River and the New Jersey Palisades. The warm up is conducted on an overlook, under a canopy of 75-year-old Linden trees. Our push ups are done against a stone wall with a view of the river; during our lunges and aerobic walking we travel along paths and stone steps bordered by rock formations that remain from the last glacial migration; and we do abdominal work on wooden benches in view of the Cloisters, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The aerobic/strengthening segment is structured like circuit training – the loop around the park is just over a mile and is punctuated by basic exercises for arms, chest, back, core, hips and thighs.  Even while walking we do arm exercises so as to use every moment productively and get the heart rate up.  (Remember Monty Python’s Bureau of Silly Walks?) I also use interval training with high intensity jogging alternating with lower intensity work.

In addition to the thorough workout, participants get the bonus of being exposed to nature: we brake for cardinals, falcons, groundhogs, sunrise, and comical squirrels. According to a growing body of literature, exposure to nature improves mood and self-esteem, may protect from strokes and heart disease, reduces stress, blood pressure, and mental fatigue, helps you heal faster from surgery, and improves feelings of neighborhood safety. The effect is so established that a team of British researchers have published their positive findings on “green exercise,” and Dutch researchers have published intriguing results on what they call “vitamin g.”

The program is free, and all levels are welcome. Classes take place three mornings a week and are held all year round, except in extreme or dangerous weather conditions. This includes temperatures or wind chill factors below 20 degrees Fahrenheit or above 95 degrees, heavy rain or lighter rain combined with heavy wind, and exceptionally icy conditions.  I usually have about 20 people, but I’m amazed when as many as 12 people show up on those 20 degree days!

More than 300 people have participated in the program over the years, and I have a hardcore group of regulars and quasi-regulars who participate as their schedule and health allow. The age ranges from 14 to 88, and for many of them, this is their main or only source of exercise.

This program is still going strong, and in the meantime I have founded “Fitness Alfresco,” a consulting business through which I have designed and implemented several other structured fitness walks in other parks for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Jewish Community Center. I have also coordinated yoga, Tai Chi, and Chi Gong programs for the past five years.  With this solid footing in northern Manhattan, I look forward to expanding in New York as well as to other cities, working with local governments as well as nonprofit organizations and private entities to help fill the fitness gap.

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NOVEL APPROACHES TO INCREASING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS - GO WALK THE DOG

Libby Richards, MSN, RN, CHES

erichards@purdue.edu

Walking is considered a simple and cost-effective strategy to increase physical activity levels. Interestingly, it is estimated that 40 percent of U.S. households own a dog (Cutt, Knuiman, & Giles-Corti, 2008). Therefore, dog walking may provide a promising option to increasing physical activity at a population level. 

A modest number of studies have shown a positive relationship between dog ownership and physical activity behaviors (Coleman, et al., 2008; Serpell, 1991; Yabroff, Troiano, & Berrigan, 2008).  Acquiring a dog has been shown to increase the number and duration of recreational walks when compared to people who don't own dogs  (Serpell, 1991).  Data from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey found that while dog owners were less likely to walk for transportation, they were more likely to walk for leisure and that dog owners walked an average of 19 more minutes per week than non-owners (Yabroff, et al., 2008).   Furthermore, Coleman and colleagues (2008) found that dog owners who walked their dog(s) were significantly more likely to meet national recommendations for moderate to vigorous physical activity than non-dog owners and dog owners who did not walk their dog(s).

Photo credit: American Council on Exercise

International studies also show promising results for the effects of dog walking on physical activity.  Brown and Rhodes (2006) examined associations between dog ownership and leisure-time walking in Canadian adults and found that dog owners spent more time in mild and moderate physical activity and walked an average of 300 min/week compared to those who did not own dogs who walked an average of 168 min/week.  In a 12-month Australian study, Cutt and colleagues (2008) concluded that new dog owners significantly increased their neighborhood recreational walking by 48 min/week compared to a 12 min/week increase for non-owners.  To date, most studies are cross-sectional but do show promising results.  Interventional studies are under way and include using dogs from the local shelters to encourage community members to get out and be active (University of Missouri-Columbia, 2009).

References

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