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 Health
Evidence Review gave this research a Review Quality Rating of 7 (moderate).
Bike
Sharing Sweeps the US (infographic)
The report
includes a look at the health benefits of cycling.
The province will play a leadership role
in striving to achieve our cycling vision, but we are asking municipalities,
the public, road users, businesses and non-governmental organizations to
partner with us to create a more cycling-friendly future for Ontario.
This slide show documents the boom in
cycling in both European and North American cities. It shows that cycling can
thrive even in cities with no history or culture of daily, utilitarian cycling,
but only if government policies provide safe, convenient, and pleasant cycling
conditions
“…it is hard to dispute the fact that
bicycling is good for you -- it’s good for your health, and easy on your
pocketbook. It is also getting harder and harder to dispute the fact that
bicycling is good for the community at large. The economics of bicycling tell
us a few key things: bicycles are cheaper to own than cars, bicyclists tend to
spend more money in their local communities, property values rise with
increased bicycling infrastructure, and more bicycling leads to more health
savings…”
This analysis indicates that many active
transport benefits tend to be overlooked or undervalued in conventional
transport economic evaluation….. It discusses active transport demands and ways
to increase walking and cycling activity.
The Planning Checklists for Cycling and
Practice Note can be used to help build healthy new suburbs where everyone can
ride their bikes as part of their everyday life, developed as part of the 3
year Healthy New Suburbs in Urban Growth Zones VicHealth funded project.
CHILDREN
Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2013 Aug;25(3):337-46.
Epub 2013 Jul 12
There were no differences in weekend steps
or screen time. Being driven to and from school is associated with less weekday
pedometer-determined physical activity in 9- to 13-year-old elementary-school
children. Encouraging children, especially girls, to walk to and from school
(even for part of the way for those living further distances) could protect the
health and well-being of those children who are insufficiently active.
Encouraging
trends in nation’s school policies on nutrition, physical education/ physical
activity, and tobacco (infographic)
Chapter 4 is dedicated to PE and PA. SHPPS
is the largest and most comprehensive survey to assess (American) school health
policies.
To see the full list of conference sessions
go to http://saferoutesconference.org/program/sessions-by-time
(a link near the top of the page also
offers a pdf of the full conference program). For a list of conference
presentations go to http://saferoutesconference.org/program/presentations.
This award-winning
program demonstrates an integrated approach to school travel planning at 30
elementary schools to support the use of active and sustainable transportation
modes. Learn about the partnerships, policies and other tools and approaches
that led to the success and sustainability of the project, with a focus on roll-out and sustainability in Hamilton, Ontario.
(This webinar video-recording is now
publicly accessible at no charge.)
COMMUNITY
Alberta Blue Cross has launched a
Healthy Communities grant program. “Four $50,000 grants will be awarded each
year to support community amenities and facilities that promote active
living.” Deadline September 30th.
HEALTH GENERAL
Annual Review of Public Health 2013.
34:22.1–22.17
doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031912-114502
Conventional planning tends to consider
some public health impacts, such as crash risk and pollution emissions measured per
vehicle-kilometer, but generally ignores health problems resulting from less
active transport (reduced walking and cycling activity)……..
MENTAL HEALTH
Preventive Medicine Available online 30
August 2013 In Press
Highlights
•We investigate association between
green space, mental health and physical activity.
•We focused upon adults in
middle-to-older age in Australia.
•Psychological distress was less common
among adults in greener areas.
•Physically inactive adults did not
appear to benefit from more green space.
•Mental health benefits of green space
for older adults depend on active lifestyles.
MISCELLANEOUS
If you don’t like this commercial, you
don’t like anything.
OBESITY/OVERWEIGHT
American Journal of Health Behavior, Volume
37, Number 6, November 2013, pp. 841-850(10)
DOI:10.5993/AJHB.37.6.13
The application of our calibration
equations to self-reported data produced closer estimates to actual rates of
overweight and obesity. We advocate the use of our correction equation whenever
dealing with self-reported height and weight from telephone surveys to avoid
potential distortions in estimating obesity prevalence. (Nykiforuk, Plotnikoff,
Raine – authors)
OLDER ADULTS
A Health Evidence Review gave this
research a Review Quality Rating of 8 (strong).
Language can be a barrier to health
behavior change, as can recommendations that do not fit into an ethnic culture.
One advantage of technology is the ability to synchronize culturally-sensitive
images and content with sound tracks in different languages.
Arthritis Care & Research, accepted
article
doi:10.1002/acr.22120
Using data from the Johnston County
Osteoarthritis Project study's first (1999-2004) and second follow-up
(2005-2010), we tested the association between meeting physical activity
guidelines and incident knee outcomes among 1522 adults aged ≥45 years…. Over
six years, people who engaged in moderate physical activity up to 150
minutes/week (equivalent to two and a half hours a week) did not increase their
risk of developing knee osteoarthritis.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Many of us struggle to be physically active
on a regular basis. Exercise—particularly starting an exercise
program—challenges people to change their behavior, and that’s hard. More than
half the attempts to begin exercise programs lapse within a few months.
Health & Place Volume 23, September
2013, Pages 18–25
Highlights:
•The 30 min of physical activity can be
achieved by walking to and from transit.
•Daily walking distance varied by
individual characteristics and mode of transit.
•Daily walking distance to public
transit was influenced by mode of transportation.
•Suburban train users walked the highest
number of minutes to and from stations.
•Neighbourhood physical characteristics
did not affect walking to public transit
The Grande Prairie Get Active Network
(GPGAN) has launched a new website to help the community stay happy and
healthy. The project connects residents
to information on clubs, sports teams, recreation, fitness and more.
British
Journal of Sport Medicine Published Online First 23 July 2013
doi:10.1136/bjsports-2013-092467
This review
offers insightful lessons that may assist policymakers, practitioners and
communities seeking to mobilize political commitment and leadership for
physical activity in their own countries.
RURAL
Haliburton Communities in Action is a
rare, well-documented model for promoting walking and cycling in a small or
rural community. It illustrates how infrastructure and policy changes can be
important elements of the social marketing mix, in this case to remove key
barriers to walking and cycling. (This webinar video-recording is now publicly accessible at no
charge.)
WOMEN
The Journal of Emergency Medicine Vol
45, Iss 3, Sept 2013, Pages 481
This study demonstrated that low
physical activity and increased sitting time increases cardiovascular disease
risk both independently and jointly.
WORKPLACE
Participants have to sign a user
agreement/waiver, and take a one-hour bike skills and maintenance course. About
10 percent of the department’s 300 employees have already taken advantage of
the program, which was launched in 2012.
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