Active Living Research News
ALR Conference
Book your spot now!
Register now for the ALR2015 conference, February 22 – 25, 2015 in San Diego, Calif. The conference theme, The Science of Policy Implementation, will be brought to life by keynote speaker Gil Penalosa, two dynamic panels, 54 oral presentations and 80 posters. The agenda also features extended physical activity breaks and many opportunities to network.
ALR Resources
Growing Evidence on Physical Activity and Academic Performance
Because children spend so much time at school, schools have a unique opportunity to help children become more healthy and active. Policies that support daily physical education and regular activity breaks during the school day can help increase physical activity, improve academic performance and improve classroom behavior among students. A new research brief, Active Education: Growing Evidence on Physical Activity and Academic Performance, reviews evidence that examines how physical activity and fitness may help school-aged children maximize their academic performance, and provides an overview of the effects of physical activity on the developing brain.
Grantee Highlights
Enhancing the Success of Open Streets Initiatives
A study by Amy Eyler, Aaron Hipp and colleagues on the development and implementation of US-based Open Streets initiatives found that the most common reason for the event was to highlight or improve health and transportation. Organizers reported the primary challenges to the events were getting people to understand the concept of Open Streets, a lack of funding and personnel, and complex logistics.
Effects of Daily PE on Fitness and Weight Status
Steve Erfle and Abigail Gamble evaluated the impact of Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Active Schools Program (ASP), requiring 30 minutes of daily physical education (PE) in middle school, on student physical fitness and weight status throughout 1 academic year. The study found that 30 minutes of daily PE can be considered a scientific approach to improving health outcomes in at-risk middle school adolescents, particularly among females.
Climate Impacts and Health Co-Benefits
The recent global forum Civil Society Event on Action in Climate Change and Health, co-hosted by the American College of Sports Medicine, the Public Health Institute, and other partner organizations, highlighted the public health impacts of climate change across the non-health sector. ALR’s Jim Sallis participated in the event and spoke on sustainable communities, active transportation and urban design. An Executive Summary and Event Videos are available.
Announcements and Other Resources
Grant Opportunity: Healthy Food Retail and Early Care / Education
Healthy Eating Research has released a Call for Proposals focused on childhood obesity prevention efforts in two settings: Healthy Food Retail; and Early Care and Education. Awards up to 12 months and up to $75,000 each are available. Concept papers are due January 7, 2015.
Tool to Improve Community Health Through Parks and Trails
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed a parks and trails toolkit that will help communities create parks with expanded health benefits. The Parks and Trails Health Impact Assessment Toolkit includes resources that provide data about health issues, recommendations from existing HIAs, and citations that support the recommendations.
Making Our Communities Healthy Through Bicycling and Walking
A new factsheet from the Safe Routes to School National Partnership provides "right now" actions advocates can take to make Safe Routes to School a priority in your community.
Increasing Walking & Walkability: A Course for Public Health Practitioners
The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD), in collaboration with CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, is hosting a new physical activity applied learning institute entitled Action Institute for Increasing Walking and Walkability for Interdisciplinary State Teams on May 4 – 6, 2015 in Nashville, TN. The public health practitioners’ course is designed to prepare state-based and/or intra-state regionally-based interdisciplinary teams to pursue policy, systems, and environmental changes and interventions to increase population levels of physical activity, with a focus on walking. Funding for teams to attend is available. Applications due January 30, 2015.
Call for Papers
The journal Pediatric Exercise Science seeks papers for a special issue titled Childhood Obesity, Exercise and Physical Activity to be published in November 2015. Original research communications, commentaries, and letters-to-the editor will be accepted. Deadline for submission to the special issue is January 9, 2015.
The Journal of Park and Recreation Administration invites papers for a special issue on the topic of Healthy Parks, Healthy People to be published in the first quarter of 2016. Papers should be submitted online with designation for the special issue. Deadline for submission to the special issue is September 1, 2015.
Conferences
Walk21
The Walk21 Conference, held October 20 – 23, 2015 in Vienna, Austria, is accepting abstracts for presentation. The meeting’s theme, Stepping Ahead, promotes activities and innovations towards the future of resilient cities and healthy living environments. Deadline for abstract submission is January 30, 2015.
Transport & Health
The 1st International Conference on Transport and Health is being held July 6 – 8, 2015 in London, England. The theme of the meeting is Changing Perspectives. The Call for Abstracts is open until January 19, 2015.
Moving Active Transportation to Higher Ground
Registration is open for the Moving Active Transportation to Higher Ground: Opportunities for Accelerating the Assessment of Health Impacts conference. Co-sponsored by the Transportation Research Board and the American College of Sports Medicine, the conference, to be held April 13-14, 2015 in Washington, DC, aims to bring together professionals to explore the state of the art and state of the practice on quantifying the public health outcomes of active transportation.
