Obesity is the most common chronic disease of childhood. Data from 100 children in Baltimore, Maryland. The mean age of our population was 11.8 years and 56% were overweight (body mass index>85 percentile). Most (96%) knew how to ride a bike and 80% reported owning a bike. Children who rode a bike just once a week or less were the most likely to be overweight. This association was stronger than for all other dietary and activity practices. Riding a bicycle at least 2 or more days during the week is associated with a decreased likelihood of being overweight during childhood.
Archive for category Environment
University of Illinois receives $16 million US$ to study impact of environment on kids’ health
Dec 16
The ImpacTeen project got the grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study policy and environmental factors that influence youth behaviors related to nutrition, physical activity, obesity and tobacco use. In some communities, researchers will look at what opportunities are available to kids for physical activity — such as walking/biking paths, bike racks, parks, sidewalks, recreation facilities and dance studios — and what characteristics of the built environment may promote or serve as barriers to activity among kids. The availability — or lack of availability — of healthy food options in communities will also be identified. Policy makers at all levels — at the federal level, state level, local level, in schools and other organizations — will be involved in this effort.
Perceptions of neighborhood characteristics and reported use of facilities were related to physical activity, with stronger associations for women than for men. Interventions to increase levels of PA among Texans should be informed by multilevel assessments including environmental characteristics.
Enjoy video from Bucharest in Romania, Bolzano in Italy and Bromley near London. Ehere Eu assisted to promote the bicycle as an alternative to polluting transport and to make cyclists’ lives easier.
In California, children from low-income households are nearly three times more likely to be obese as children from affluent households, according to a new UCLA report. Statewide, 21 percent of teens living in low-income families are obese, researchers said, compared to eight percent of teens from more affluent families. The researchers blamed the disparity in obesity on a higher intake of sugary soda and fast food, fewer opportunities to participate in organized sports, more television watched, and less general physical activity. High numbers of fast-food restaurants and low numbers of parks in poorer neighborhoods contribute to the problem, they said. “Our neighborhoods are literally making us fat,” said Susan H. Babey, one of the policy brief’s authors. “We need better strategies and more thoughtful urban planning if we’re going to make our towns and cities livable, not just places where we live.”
The home and neighborhood environments may be important in obesity prevention by virtue of food availability, food preparation, cues and opportunities for physical activity, and family support. In-depth interviews were conducted with 60 African American and White adults over 50 years of age in two rural counties in Southwest Georgia. Neighborhood features that supported physical activity were plenty of land, minimal traffic and living in a safe and friendly neighborhood. The major barrier was lack of recreational facilities. The study suggests that successful environmental change strategies to promote physical activity and healthy eating in rural neighborhoods may differ from those used in urban neighborhoods.
Planning for Healthy Places
Dec 13
Planning for Healthy Places is a program in the Public Health Law & Policy unit at the Public Health Institute. The Public Health Institute is an independent nonprofit organization based in Oakland, California. This is their website on community planning solutions to increase access to healthy foods and physical activity through improvements to the built environment.
Michael Pollan on pbs
Dec 11
Professor of Journalism Michael Pollan suggested to Obama how he should reform agriculture and the US food system. On this highly interesting TV-show he explains why and how. Please enjoy. And thanks to Marion Nestlé for pointing it out.
These two books were published in 2006 by WHO Europe.
Physical activity and health in Europe: evidence for actionThis book is written for European policy-makers and leaders from different sectors that can promote physical activity, including health, sports and recreation, transport, employment, urban planning, education and the mass media. It sets out the facts about health-enhancing physical activity, provides examples of action already being taken, highlights the contributions that can be made by health and other sectors and makes the case for concerted action across the WHO European Region.
You can order the printed version here. The book is also avaiable in Danish click here.
Promoting physical activity and active living in urban environments. The role of local governments. The solid factsThis publication presents the best available evidence on physical activity in the urban environment and makes suggestions for policy and practice based on that evidence. Mayors and other elected city officials can use this information to address the needs and contributions of all citizens in different settings of everyday life with the aims of ensuring equitable and comprehensive efforts to promote physical activity and active living.
You can order the printed edition here. The book is also avaiable in Danish click here.
Boyd Swinburn published his view on obesogenic environments, especially the food environment. This constitutes a “market failure,” signaling the need for government interventions with policies, programs, and social marketing. Food marketing to children is a central policy issue for governments to address, and comprehensive regulations are needed to provide substantive protection for children. The 2 major challenges are to ensure substantial funding to promote healthy weights can be scaled up to a national level and to ensure that policies are in place to support these efforts. The social and cultural shifts that support healthy eating and physical activity occur differentially. A positive public health approach encompassing environmental, regulatory, sociocultural, and educational strategies offer the best chance of reducing obesity.