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
This study from
Active Living Research notes that while the economic performance of walkable
shopping areas is worthy of continued empirical research… all the evidence
seems to suggest that walkable retail is on the upswing. Since 45% of daily
trips, on average, are made for shopping and running errands, encouraging
walking is an important strategy in reducing obesity and improving health. It
is also important to reducing energy usage and carbon emissions.
A research
report the ITF Working Group on Cycling Safety. Among the recommendations for
policy makers is the moderation of some urban road speeds to 30km/h or less,
and the use of separated cycling infrastructure to increase the number of new
cyclists, hence reaping the greatest health benefits through increased physical
activity, including reducing risks linked to cardiovascular disease, obesity
and Type-2 diabetes…….
Canadian artist
Roadsworth believes street crossings should be more than asphalt safety keyboards.
So for years he's traveled around his native Montreal, as well as the world,
transforming these pedestrian passages into eye-grabbing spectacles: a school
of colorful fish, a skein of yarn, a skeleton…..
In this policy
platform, the Partnership for Active Transportation recommends increased
investment in active transportation, with a focus on filling gaps in networks,
leveraged by the private value created by the infrastructure, and further
driven by performance metrics and integration of health impacts into
transportation decisions. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see other key AT
resources from the APHA.
BUILT ENVIRONMENT
PLOS One Published: January 14, 2014
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0085295
We conclude that both residential
density and the availability of walkable destinations are good measures of
urban walkability and can be recommended for use by policy-makers, planners and
public health officials. In our setting, the combination of both factors
provided additional explanatory power.
Every day, high-density global cities
are home to millions of pedestrians in their streets. Paradoxically though,
many streets and transportation policies continue to place more space and
importance on cars rather than people.
Researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital in
Toronto set out to determine what features of urban neighborhoods lead to more
activity and thus better health outcomes. There are many more interesting blogs
in the right hand column of this page.
The Atlantic declares the passing of
“peak car” era. What do they mean? That some the best cities to live in, with
the greatest public transportation and highest rates of college graduates are
over car ownership! When population density in major cities increases and
spaces get crowded, cars automatically become expensive nice-to-haves as
opposed to have-to-haves. Solution? An excellent interconnected network of
walkways, bike paths and public transit and say goodbye to personal cars!
CHILDREN
This February 10th posting
announced that in compliance with Illinois state law, the Chicago Board of Education has
unanimously decided to make daily Physical Education classes mandatory for
public schools.
Pediatrics Vol. 131 No. 2
Feb 1, 2013 pp. 290 -296
doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-2182
Implementation of the SRTS program in
New York City has contributed to a marked reduction in pedestrian injury in
school-aged children.
A comprehensive K-6 walking and biking
curriculum that teaches safe traffic behavior through classroom activities and
on-the-bike skills practice. The goals of the extensive lesson plans teach
skills to children to walk and bicycle safely — building confidence and helping
them stay safe, active, and healthy. (188pg .pdf document)
Am J Health Promotion: January/February
2014, Vol. 28, No. sp3, pp. S89-S96
State-funded SRTS projects are achieving
one of the primary program goals of increasing rates of AST. They may be
particularly effective at introducing bicycling to communities where it is
rare. The evaluation framework introduced in this study can be used to continue
tracking the effect of state SRTS programs as more projects are completed.
OLDER ADULTS
“Age-friendly-community strategies
should target healthy middle-class seniors: Aging successfully depends not only
on the behaviours of individual seniors, but also on the quality of the places
where they live and receive care. A new IRPP paper says investing in
community-based solutions can produce considerable benefits – but given limited
funding and competing demands for resources, the age-friendly-communities
movement must prioritize over-ambitious agendas and offer solutions that do not
overlap with other programs.
Be sure to note there are four tabs with
information on this page - Summary/News Release/IRPP insight/Notes
Neurobiology of Aging Available online
20 February 2014 In Press
This study used path analysis to examine
effects of cognitive activity and physical activity on cognitive functioning in
older adults…. lifestyle activity may promote cognitive health in aging by
protecting against cerebrovascular pathology and beta-amyloid
pathology thought to be relevant to Alzheimer’s disease development.
Atherosclerosis Available online 20
February 2014 In Press
Within the SMART-MR study, 1.5T MRI of
the brain and neuropsychological examinations were performed at baseline
(n=1232) and after 3.9±0.4 years follow-up (n=663). Automatic brain
segmentation was used to quantify intracranial (ICV), total brain, ventricular,
and white matter lesion (WML) volumes. Brain infarcts were rated visually.
Level of physical activity was expressed in metabolic equivalents (MET) hours
p/week….. These data suggest that leisure time physical activity does not have
a significant contribution in preventing or slowing down brain abnormalities
and cognitive decline in this cohort of middle-aged individuals already
burdened with vascular disease.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Includes resources, research papers and
infographics.
Quebec’s largest annual campaign
encouraging the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits. The Health Challenge is 6
weeks of motivation to improve one’s lifestyle habits! Setting 3 goals on your
own, as a family, or as part of a team, for 6 weeks, from March 1 to April 11
·
Eat at least 5 servings of
fruit and vegetables a day
·
Get active at least 30 minutes
a day. And for young people, it’s at least 60 minutes!
·
Sleeping better for increased
wellness in life
The Play Exchange is the Public Health
Agency of Canada’s flagship healthy living and chronic disease prevention
initiative…. A first of its kind partnership that will ask Canadians to submit
their ideas of how we can be more active. The Play Exchange will select
Canadian judges, who will review all submissions and pick the top ideas.
Business and Community leaders will work with the “innovators” to help develop
their ideas and project proposals. Fact
Sheet
An exciting new program developed by
family doctors. Its purpose is to help encourage people who are not getting
enough exercise to become more active. Family doctors and other health care
providers who are part of different Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in Edmonton
and nearby areas first identify patients who could benefit from more exercise.
Then they fill out a special prescription that provides details on how their
patients can act on that recommendation.
Physical Activity: A golden goal for
health! April 6th, 2014
