Active Living Research News
ALR Resources
Parks and Recreation Infographic
Parks, trails and recreational facilities provide a wide variety of opportunities for physical activity and can help many Americans lead a more active lifestyle. This infographic highlights evidence that parks and recreation areas can increase physical activity levels while also providing economic benefits to families and communities. The infographic also shows that racial disparities exist in access to parks and recreational facilities.
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Grantee Publications
Creating Safe and Active Environments
Keshia Pollack contributed to creating Active Design Supplement: Promoting Safety — a guide on how to incorporate safety and injury prevention while designing active environments. It serves as a companion to the original Active Design Guidelines. Practitioners involved with building design, urban planning, injury prevention, behavioral science, or health education will find this guide useful in creating places and communities that are safe for walking and biking.
More and Better Movement in Preschool Children
In a pilot study, Sofiya Alhassan examined the effects of a teacher-taught physical activity program on the loco-motor skills (e.g. running, jumping/leaping, hopping, and sliding) and physical activity levels of preschool children from lower-income families in Massachusetts. The study found that sedentary time decreased significantly among children who participated in the intervention. That held true during preschool and throughout the day. Participating children also showed a significant improvement in leaping skills. The authors conclude that the implementation of a teacher-taught, loco-motor based physical activity program could potentially improve loco-motor skills and reduce sedentary time of minority preschoolers.
What Do Cyclists Really Want?
To better understand what riders want from a bike route, Jennifer Dill used GPS to monitor the route choices of cyclists in Portland, Ore. The report found that that bicycle riders were more likely to choose off-road bike paths or traffic-calming bikeways (a.k.a “bike boulevards”) than traditional arterial bike lanes. This finding can be especially useful in informing budget-strapped cities that are planning to expand bike infrastructure, as off-road bike paths and bike boulevards are less costly to implement.
Check out Jennifer Dill’s guest blog about her study.
Funding Opportunities
Childhood Obesity Challenge Seeks Innovative Policies
Round 2 of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine’s (AJPM) Childhood Obesity Challenge seeks submissions focusing on innovative policies aimed at reducing childhood obesity, as well as strategies for getting these policies adopted and applied to schools, institutions, municipalities, or other organizations. The first-place winner will receive a $2,500 cash prize and will be featured in AJPM (website and print). The deadline to submit is Nov. 30th.
NIH Grants for Time-Sensitive Research
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces a funding opportunity (RO1) to support time-sensitive research to evaluate a new policy or program expected to influence obesity related behaviors (e.g., dietary intake, physical activity, or sedentary behavior) and/or weight outcomes in an effort to prevent or reduce obesity. Application deadlines: Multiple.
Resources & Other Announcements
Online Cancer Intervention Database
The Research-tested Intervention Programs is a searchable database of cancer control interventions and program materials designed to efficiently provide program planners and practitioners with easy access to research-tested materials and implementation guidance. If you are interested in submitting your program for inclusion in the database, please visit the on-line registration form.
Free Online Course on Assessing the Built Environment
The Built Environment Assessment Training (BEAT) Institute has launched a free online course to instruct people in assessing the built environment for physical activity. The course is geared towards anyone with an interest in learning how to assess the extent to which different environments support walking, biking, and others forms of physical activity.
