Resources
The Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization published a report entitled “Promoting physical activity and active living in urban environments: The role of local governments.” An excerpt: “The evidence on the built environment and physical activity presented here comes from two major sources: studies on urban planning that primarily examine the connection between the built environment and walking and cycling as modes of transport and studies on physical activity that examine the connection between the urban environment and physical activity in its broadest sense, including active transport, sport, recreational activity and playing in the park. Together, they indicate the importance of accessibility (determined by land-use patterns and the transport system together), design and aesthetics in promoting physical activity and active living. The causal relationships between active living and the physical and social environments may be considerably more complicated. However, creating opportunities for active living should be a priority in urban planning that is concerned with public health, a sustainable environment, cost-effectiveness, social cohesion and the creation of a people-friendly, attractive city.” The full report is available online as PDF file at: http://www.euro.who.int/document/e89498.pdf
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released the 30th annual report on the nation's health titled, "Health, United States, 2006." The report consists of two main sections: a chartbook containing text and figures that illustrate major trends in the health of Americans; and a trends section that contains 147 detailed data tables. The two main components are supplemented by an executive summary, a highlights section, an extensive appendix and reference section and an index. The report also includes a chartbook, "Trends in the Health of Americans," which assesses the current state of the nation's health and how it is changing. This year's edition of the chartbook features a special focus on pain. For more information or to access the report, visit http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm.
An article entitled “Local Venues for Change: Legal Strategies for Healthy Environments” was published in the Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics. Abstract: Mounting evidence documents the extraordinary toll on human health resulting from the consumption of unhealthy food products and physical inactivity. In response to America's growing obesity problem, local policymakers have been looking for legal strategies that can be adopted in their communities to encourage healthful behaviors. In order to provide practical tools to policymakers, this article examines four possible venues for local policy change to improve the health of a community: (1) the school environment, (2) the built environment, (3) community facilities, and (4) the point of sale environment. Finally, the article examines the use of taxes or fees as a means of paying for nutrition policy work as well as potentially reducing the consumption of unhealthy products. This article illustrates that local laws and policies can be a valuable tool in changing a community's environment in order to improve nutritional options and increase opportunities for physical activity. A link to the article: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1748-720X.2007.00118.x
The Northwest Health Foundation, which focuses on advancing, supporting, and promoting the health of the people of Oregon and southwest Washington is planning "Healthier Communities Through Action and Research," a conference exploring the intersection between community-based participatory research and social change. The opening plenary will be delivered by Mildred Thompson, who leads the health team at PolicyLink. Thompson will address community factors that impact health disparities and identify policy changes needed to improve individual, family, and community health. For more information about the conference, please visit The Northwest Health Foundation at http://www.nwhf.org
The International Council on Active Aging’s Welcome Back to Fitness toolkit is designed to help older adults get back into a fitness regime, whether at home, at a club, with a personal trainer or on their own. The toolkit is available on the ICAA website and features topics such how to get started, age friendly equipment and physical activities, what to look for in a trainer, and questions to ask your doctor before getting started. An age friendly facilities locator (in United States and Canada) is also available. Go to http://www.icaa.cc/welcomeback.htm to view the toolkit.
The US Environmental Protection Agency’s Smart Growth Illustrated provides visual examples of smart growth techniques as they have been used in different places. Although every example illustrates several smart growth principles, each was chosen to illustrate one specific principle. A narrative description and photographs are provided for each case study. To view the smart growth examples, go to http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/case.htm.
The Harvard School of Public Health in partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Health and with support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation recently launched a website that brings together a wide range of indicators of how people of different racial/ethnic backgrounds live. The site includes comparative data about housing, neighborhood conditions, residential integration, and education—and goes beyond many similar websites by including information on health factors such as disability rates, health insurance, births to teenager mothers, births to unmarried mothers, prenatal care, smoking during pregnancy, preterm births, and low birthweight rates. In addition, this data can be viewed within racial/ethnic subcategories. For more information, visit http://www.DiversityData.org
Rollie Robin is an obesity awareness and prevention program designed to encourage physical activity and healthy food choices among children in preschool to 3rd grade. Children help Rollie, a bird who cannot fly, by setting examples for him. They record their improved eating and enhanced physical activities in a journal and are rewarded with stickers and visual charting of their success. http://www.rollierobin.com
Smart Growth has prepared a report to explain how the built environment influences our transportation choices and health. “Promoting Public Health through Smart Growth” reviews the existing research for a range of transportation-related health impacts on seven public health outcomes: Physical Activity and Obesity, Air Quality, Traffic Safety, Noise, Water Quality, Mental Health, and Social Capital. To download the report, go to: http://www.smartgrowth.bc.ca/downloads/SGBC_Health%20Report%20Final.pdf.
The Urban Land Institute, the National Multi-Housing Council, and the Sierra Club have prepared PowerPoint presentations, titled “A Plan for Tomorrow: Creating Stronger and Healthier Communities Today,” that show how density can transform neighborhoods and provide research to allay the conventional fears about density. Presentations and customizable scripts for both urban and suburban audiences (planning officials, neighborhood groups, chambers of commerce, etc.) are below:
Urban Communities Suburban Communities High Density Development
A recent article featured on Smart Growth Online, entitled “Linking Land Use Planning and the Food Environment,” describes characteristics of communities that promote or inhibit healthy eating and physical activity. The author, Lisa Feldstein, is the Public Health Law Program’s Senior Policy Director and Director of the Land Use and Health Program. http://icma.org/sgn/newsdetail.cfm?nfid=2666&id=#autoID%23
A recent study by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania found that rural communities have a higher percentage of overweight children than urban communities, and that over time the proportion of overweight children increased more rapidly in rural areas. This is consistent with other work that has suggested that characteristics of some rural areas place children at increased risk for obesity. These findings can be attributed in part to poverty and limited access to healthy foods. http://www.ruralpa.org/Overweight_child.pdf
A report published by the La Salle Bank, “Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago,” considers the ratio of healthy food retailers to fast food restaurants in a range of neighborhoods in relation to health outcomes. http://www.lasallebank.com/about/pdfs/report.pdf