March 22, 2013

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

Note: where possible, we provide the DOI link to research papers in the Info Round-Up.  To use it, cut and paste the DOI into the text box on this webpage: http://dx.doi.org/.  Access to research articles will be dependent on your institutional rights.

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

A Tool Kit to Accelerate the Adoption of Cycling for Transport

This report synthesizes academic behaviour change literature with the practical application of cycling programs to present an adaptable, evidence-based guide to the development of a “toolkit” to accelerate the adoption of cycling for transportation.

CHRONIC DISEASE

Advancing the Science and Practice of Diabetes Prevention

American Journal of Preventive Medicine

Volume 44, Issue 4, Supplement 4, Pages A1-A4, S297-S400 (April 2013)

This supplement includes articles related to prevention and the role of physical activity.

Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA) position statement on exercise and chronic kidney disease

Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport published online 25 February 2013

Due to the high prevalence and incidence of co-morbidities in CKD patients, exercise training programs should be prescribed and delivered by individuals with appropriate qualifications and experience to recognize and accommodate co-morbidities and associated complications.

HEALTH GENERAL

Health and Wellness are Priorities for Individual Canadians, but Less so for Government

Canadians understand the connection between their lifestyles and their health, an Ekos survey for the Conference Board of Canada's Canadian Alliance for Sustainable Health Care has found. Although Canadians understand the importance of lifestyles, the Conference Board points out that only a fraction of the 6.2 per cent of government health expenditures on public health goes to health promotion.

OLDER ADULTS

Healthy aging and age-adjusted nutrition and physical fitness

Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Online 14 March 2013

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2013.01.004

Exercise could probably be tailored to increase cardiovascular health or to prevent bone loss. It is of great importance for healthcare providers to recommend slowly increased frequency, duration and intensity and to help find activities that suit the individual in order to increase compliance….. Overall, dietary and exercise modifications seem to be strong promoters of healthy ageing.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Health Impact of Physical Inactivity

Physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for death and disability in the UK. New statistics released by the South West Public Health Observatory and charity Sustrans show that lack of physical activity could cause as many as 36,815 premature deaths in England each year.

This data is part of the new Health Impact of Physical Inactivity (HIPI) tool. This web-based tool estimates how many excess deaths and cases of certain diseases could be prevented in each local authority in England, if the population (aged 40-79) were to engage in recommended amounts of physical activity.

Physical Activity Research Group (University College London)

In response to growing interest in the field of physical activity epidemiology at UCL, the Physical Activity Research Group (PARG) was established in December 2010 in the Research Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, and is now part of the Population Health Domain. The key aim of PARG is to act as a platform to promote multi-disciplinary collaborations and enhance the presence of UCL in several strategic areas.

URBAN DESIGN

Model Design Manual for Living Streets

This manual focuses on all users and all modes, seeking to achieve balanced street design that accommodates cars while ensuring that pedestrians, cyclists and transit users can travel safely and comfortably. This manual also incorporates features to make streets lively, beautiful, economically vibrant as well as environmentally sustainable.

People Make Places

Great public places are the heart of any vibrant and people-oriented city. Parks, markets, public squares and lively streets are popular spots for neighbours to socialize, relax, play and engage with their community. People Make Places is 8-80 Cities’ unique place-making process. It is designed to revitalize underperforming public spaces, by creating inviting community destinations, through authentic community participation.
 

The re:Streets project

Featuring nine ways to create streets that are community assets, this project guides planners, engineers, advocates, elected officials, and community members to rethink what streets would look like if they accommodated people of all ages and abilities, promoted health, business, and the environment. In addition to strategies to improve mobility and access for people of all ages, abilities, and modes of travel, the guide includes best practices and case studies to support commerce, wayfinding, and green infrastructure

The Stanford Healthy Neighborhood Discovery Tool: A Computerized Tool to Assess Active Living Environments

American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 44, Issue 4, April 2013, Pages e41-e47

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.11.028

This project aimed to develop and evaluate the utility of a computerized, tablet-based participatory tool designed to engage older residents in identifying neighborhood elements that affect active living opportunities….. Elements identified as affecting active living were commensurate with the existing literature (e.g., sidewalk features, aesthetics, parks/playgrounds, crosswalks). However, within each housing site, the profile of environmental elements identified was distinct, reflecting the importance of granular-level information collected by the tool.

WORKPLACE

Workplace Health Promotion: A Meta-Analysis of Effectiveness

American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 44, Issue 4, April 2013, Pages 406-415

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.12.007

A systematic literature search was conducted identifying RCTs, published before June 2012, evaluating the effect of a WHPP aimed at smoking cessation, physical activity, healthy nutrition, and/or obesity on self-perceived health, work absence due to sickness, work productivity, or work ability… The effectiveness of a WHPP is partly determined by intervention characteristics and statistical analysis. High-quality RCTs reported lower effect sizes.

March 15, 2012

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc
Resource Coordinator

Alberta Centre for Active Living

Note: where possible, we provide the DOI link to research papers in the Info Round-Up.  To use it, cut and paste the DOI into the text box on this webpage: http://dx.doi.org/.  Access to research articles will be dependent on your institutional rights.

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Arguments Against Non-Motorized Transport Development Beginning to Lose Steam

Why are the relatively modest costs of sidewalks, bicycle lanes and paths, and pedestrian improvements met with suspicion and hostility by the conventional auto-oriented transportation community? What are the true costs and the true benefits of these projects?

Bicycles are Transit: Linking Cycling, Transit, Planning and People

Save for walking trips, no trip involves just one form of transportation. We inevitably shift between two or more methods of travel – by foot, bicycle, bus, train, car – so we must be aware that every mode of transportation is connected and strive to make these connections seamless.

Does distance matter? Exploring the links among values, motivations, home location, and satisfaction in walking trips

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice

Volume 50, April 2013, Pages 198–208

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2013.01.044

This study contributes to walking behavior research in three ways. It presents:

·         a deeper understanding of the varied reasons people choose to walk;

·         a new understanding of how these motivations are correlated with trip satisfaction; and

·         a theoretical framework positing how the same underlying values and motivations lead to home location decision while simultaneously moderating the effect of trip characteristics such as slope and distance.

Global status report on road safety 2013: Canada failing cyclists and pedestrians

While 77 per cent of United Nations countries carry out safety audits to ensure the safety of road infrastructure projects for cyclists and pedestrians, Canada does not, and is contributing to a concerning trend of countries promoting alternative forms of transportation without ensuring their safety, according to the Global Status Report on Road Safety.

Healthy Cities are for Walkers; Walkers for Healthy Cities

From the Conservation Law Foundation

If Only Every City Had a Masked Lucha Libre Defender of Pedestrians

Wouldn't you just love to have a superhero sweep down, stand up to the jerk behind the wheel, and block the car so you could cross safely? Enter Peatónito, the masked Mexican defender of pedestrians!... He wears a cape and a mask in the tradition of Lucha Libre, the popular Mexican wrestling style.

Now, car airbag that pops out to save pedestrians

Swedish auto major Volvo has unveiled a new "pedestrian airbag," which pops up on the outside of the car to protect people who get struck.

Walking is Not a Crime: Questioning the Accident Axiom

No one is suggesting that it is, or should become a crime, however media reports about walking and bicycling injuries and deaths more often than not lead one to the conclusion the victim was somewhere doing something he shouldn't have been doing

What happens when you build it and they don’t come?

Perhaps the most important lesson drawn from the case studies is that no single measure suffices. A coordinated package of infrastructure provisions, promotional programs, and transportation and land-use policies is the trademark of every city that has succeeded at significantly raising cycling levels.

Whose Roads? Evaluating Bicyclists’ and Pedestrians’ Right to Use Public Roadways

This document was updated 13 March 2013

CHILDREN

Hands Up for Health Physical Literacy – YouTube Videos

The HANDS UP for Health and Physical Literacy video series has launched on Youtube. It is a three-part illustrated video series that will engage children and youth in physical and health literacy.

Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report: Strategies to Increase

Physical Activity Among Youth

This report identifies interventions that can help increase physical activity in youth ages 3-17 years across a variety of settings. The primary audiences for the report are policymakers, health care and public health professionals

HEALTH GENERAL

Transportation and Public Health

Annual Review of Public Health Volume 34

This article published in 'The Annual Review of Public Health' investigates various ways that transportation policy and planning decisions affect public health, and transport planning can better incorporate public health objectives. It identifies 'win-win' strategies that help improve public health and achieve other planning objectives.

OLDER ADULTS

Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) is a large, national, long-term study that will follow approximately 50,000 men and women between the ages of 45 and 85 for at least 20 years. The study will collect information on the changing biological, medical, psychological, social, lifestyle and economic aspects of people’s lives.

Defining the new normal in aging

UAlberta researcher says terms such as "normal," "healthy" or "successful" aging can prejudice our views of seniors.

SEDENTARISM

Associations of objectively measured sedentary behaviour and physical activity with markers of cardiometabolic health

Diabetologia March 2013

These studies provide preliminary evidence that sedentary behavior may be a more effective way to target the prevention of type 2 diabetes, rather than just solely focusing on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)…… This approach requires a paradigm shift, so that individuals at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes think about the balance of sedentary behavior and physical activity throughout the day.

URBAN DESIGN

Active Living Collaboratives in the United States: Understanding Characteristics, Activities, and Achievement of Environmental and Policy Change

Preventing Chronic Disease 2013

http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd10.120162

Changing the built environment to promote active lifestyles requires collaboration among diverse sectors. Multisectoral collaborative groups in the United States promote active lifestyles through environmental and policy changes. The objective of this study was to examine the characteristics of these collaborative groups and the extent to which they have achieved change.

Going On A Road Diet: Lane Reduction Can Increase Safety For Pedestrians, Bicyclists, And Motorists While Improving The Quality Of Life In Downtowns Across The Country

This article published in "Public Roads" describes current efforts to redesign urban streets for multiple users and uses. (Includes great before and after photos)

Not All Density Is Created Equal

A few days ago, I was reviewing some good work by colleagues describing NRDC’s advocacy for sustainable cities. The original draft stressed that dense living is the way to go. Wherever the word "dense" appeared, I crossed it out substituted the word "walkable." Not only is "walkable" a much friendlier word; it also captures so many more of the things we need to make the places where we live and work more sustainable and livable.

WORKPLACE

The Effect of Price Reduction on Salad Bar Purchases at a Corporate Cafeteria

Preventing Chronic Disease 2013

http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd10.12021

We reduced the price of salad bar purchases by 50% during March 2012 and analyzed sales data by month for February through June 2012. …..Although our survey data are limited by a 26% response rate, the survey data and the 366% increase in salad sales by weight in March suggest that cost is a significant barrier to salad consumption….The change in purchases in response to the change of price suggests that salads purchased in a cafeteria are viewed as a luxury rather than a necessity

March 11, 2013

By Rosanne Prinsen, MSc

Alberta Centre for Active Living

Note: where possible, we provide the DOI link to research papers in the Info Round-Up.  To use it, cut and paste the DOI into the text box on this webpage: http://dx.doi.org/.  Access to research articles will be dependent on your institutional rights.

 

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION

Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning

This focus page contains resources for bicycle and pedestrian planning, and other non-motorized transportation modes, including guidelines and design standards, case studies and ideas for integrated planning, funding strategies, and other helpful tools.

Board Issues Supplemental Rule to Address Access to Shared Use Paths

The proposed rights-of-way guidelines, which cover access to sidewalks, streets, and other pedestrian facilities, provide requirements for pedestrian access routes, including specifications for route width, grade, cross slope, surfaces, and other features.

Counting Bicyclists and Pedestrians to Inform Transportation Planning

This research brief describes types of technologies for counting bicyclists and pedestrians and the benefits and challenges associated with different approaches. It also explains how counting data can be used to inform transportation planning, presents trends in levels of bicycle and pedestrian activity, and illustrates one goal of non-motorized traffic monitoring, namely, estimating bicycle and pedestrian traffic on streets in cities and towns.

Partnership for Active Transportation

If you choose not to complete the declaration just scroll to the bottom of the page to visit the main website. A unique collaboration of organizations working at the intersection of transportation, public health and community vitality to promote greater investment in creating safe trail, walking and bicycling networks for all, and facilitating greater physical activity through active transportation.

Understanding Bicyclist-Motorist Crashes

A Comprehensive Look at Crash Data From 2000-2010 and Recommendations for Improved Bicyclist Safety.' Forty-one percent of crashes occur at intersections and another 40 percent occur within 50 feet of intersections. There is a clear correlation between the number of bicyclists and the crash rate. As the number of bicyclists has increased over the past decade, the crash rate has decreased. On streets and corridors with higher volumes of bicycle traffic, the crash rate tends to be lower than on streets with lower volumes of bicycle traffic.

Walkonomics: New Way To Measure Walkability

The new Walkonomics app -- currently available only for Manhattan, San Francisco and the United Kingdom -- uses open source data to rank streets on a scale of one to five. Whereas Walk Score bases its rankings largely on the accessibility of nearby amenities, Walkonomics looks at sidewalk-level measurements such as street widths, traffic levels, 311 cleanliness reports, crime statistics, and pedestrian injuries.

Winter Cycling Congress 2013 presentations

Scroll down for pdf’s of the presentations. 

CHILDREN

9 ways to tell if your child is physically literate

At the risk of oversimplification, Active for Life has produced a short list of nine simple physical tests and questions to assess the state of your child’s physical literacy. These questions describe a few of the simple abilities and attitudes that are commonly associated with physical literacy in early school age children.

Get Active: Perspectives of Canadians on the Importance of Physical Education, Health Education and Physical Activity

A report that details the results of a public opinion survey of Canadians and parents on issues of physical education, health education, and physical activity. The findings paint a picture of broad-based support for greater investment in physical and health education.

HANDS UP for Health and Physical Literacy

From OPHEA – this resource is a three part illustrated video series that will teach children and youth about the importance of physical and health literacy in a fun and engaging way.

Interpreting the UK physical activity guidelines for children and young people

This document will help you to understand what the guidelines are, what types and amounts of physical activity children and young people should do and why this is important. It will help you to shape your programs and assist in motivating even the least active people to meet the physical activity guidelines.

Is environmental setting associated with the intensity and duration of children's physical activity? Findings from the SPEEDY GPS study

Health & Place Volume 20, March 2013, Pages 62–65

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.11.008

We find that land uses such as buildings and roads and pavements were generally used for light activity, whilst green environments such as gardens, parks, grassland and farmland appear supportive of vigorous activity. Built land uses such as hard surface play areas were particularly used for activity of short duration.

CONFERENCES

Fit Cities - Fit World 2013

18 March 2013 to 19 March 2013

An international conference hosted in London

The event will bring together architects, planners, designers, developers, and public health professionals to explore how building design and policy decisions can make communities healthier….

Urban Ecologies 2013

June 20^th – 21^st Toronto

A conference that will examine the impact of five intersecting themes that are shaping the future of design in our cities.

HEALTHY EATING

Health Canada – Healthy Eating Toolbox

This Toolbox gives you free access to a wide variety of resources, tools, and tips on promoting healthy eating through your organization’s networks and communities.

Health Canada - My Food Guide Servings Tracker

A guide for children, youth and adults to track their food intake to ensure they’re meeting the recommendations in Canada’s Food Guide

MISCELLANEOUS

Linking National Policy to Local Action

Successfully advocating for and enacting policy change for increasing population levels of physical activity may come as the result of linking physical activity to other relevant policy initiatives…...  Read about New Hampshire's 2013-2018 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) and how it sits within the broader US National Physical Plan.

OBESITY/OVERWEIGHT

Educational Interventions in Childhood Obesity: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials

Preventive Medicine online 27 February 2013 In Press

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.02.024

We report a systematic review of educational interventions for childhood obesity ► Educational interventions to treat childhood obesity reduced BMI and waist circumference ► Educational interventions to treat childhood obesity reduced diastolic blood pressure ► Educational interventions to prevent obesity in school children did not improve outcomes

OLDER ADULTS

ICAA reboots ICAA website

Completely re-envisioned, the new ICAA site is extremely easy to use. It's also filled with more of the information you've come to expect from us. Featuring 300 videos; 1,500 research studies; 1,200 articles; 80 handouts; 12 PowerPoint presentations, plus much, much more…

Sitting-time and 9-year all-cause mortality in older women

British Journal of Sports Medicine Published Online First 2013

doi:10.1136/bjsports-2012-091676

This is a good quality study to contribute to the sedentary behaviour evidence base in an under studied age group. Investigating the effects in older men would be an avenue for future research. More practically, this study highlights the need for ;health programs for older women to aim to  reduce sitting, with particular consideration for chronic health conditions.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Government of Yukon program promotes active living

$250,000 annual investment into active living programs will boost physical activity levels among Yukoners of all ages and help combat rising rates of childhood obesity, Community Services Minister Elaine Taylor announced.

Identifying effective strategies to increase recruitment and retention in community-based health promotion programs

The Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research (C-PAN) undertook a project for the Medibank Community Fund, to identify effective and successful strategies for recruitment and retention of participants in community-based health promotion programs. Lots of info about children, and active transport and environmental influences.

RURAL

Rural and Small Community Planning

The Rural and Small Community Planning focus area page is a one-stop shop for resources about transportation planning in rural and small communities on the TPCB website. It includes links to publications, legislation and guidance, recent peer events, upcoming calendar events, and related websites. Includes reports like: “Forging Transit-Bicycle-Pedestrian Partnerships for

Livable, Sustainable Communities”.

SEDENTARISM

Too Much Sitting: Health Risks of Sedentary Behaviour and Opportunities for Change

Read the latest facts around sedentary behaviour in this Research Digest from the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, including MET values for different types of activities and daily time allocations of sedentary people.

URBAN DESIGN

A Distance-Based Method to Estimate Annual Pedestrian and Bicyclist Exposure in an Urban Environment

This report describes a methodology for measuring pedestrian and bicyclist exposure based on counts of pedestrian and bicyclist volumes as well as the distances that pedestrians and bicyclists travel on facilities shared with motor vehicles.

Integrating Walkability into Planning Practice

Although walking has many benefits, in regard to both transportation and health, it is oddly neglected in most planning exercises. One reason for this neglect is that appropriate data collection and analysis are prohibitively expensive. This research demonstrates how Walk Score data can be used to estimate walk mode share and can be applied in planning practice for the site-development process and for general planning.

Metropolitan Area Transportation Planning For Healthy Communities

The purpose of this white paper is to identify an integrated and flexible approach to how metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and their partners can successfully consider aspects of health during the transportation planning process.

WOMEN

Factors associated with changes in leisure time physical activity during early pregnancy

International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics Online 1 March 2013 In Press

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2012.11.021

Few women achieved the minimum recommendations for exercise before or during pregnancy. Nevertheless, adoption of healthy lifestyle choices during pregnancy seemed to promote other healthy habits, such as participation in LTPA.

Types of physical activity during pregnancy

Polish Annals of Medicine online 27 February 2013 In Press

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.poamed.2013.02.004

The aim of this study was to investigate the selected forms of physical activity undertaken during pregnancy and to compare the level of physical activity before pregnancy and during its duration…. Physical activity during pregnancy is very popular among women in the Lublin area. According to studies by various authors physical activity carries many benefits for both mother and baby, so pregnant women should be encouraged to perform physical exercises if there are no contraindications.

WORKPLACE

The use of Point-of-Decision prompts to increase stair climbing in Singapore

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2013 10(1), 210-218

Large colourful stair-riser as well as floor stickers bearing the motivational messages (“I Want to climb the stairs for fitness” and “I’ve burnt 5x more calories using the stairs!”) were put up in two centrally-located, underground air-conditioned train stations. Each of these stations had a 30-step staircase located adjacent to an escalator. On comparing the incidence in stair-climbing between stations that had PODPs and those without, overall the PODP’s increased the likelihood of stair climbing by 48.5%.