Mr. Blumenauer is a passionate advocate of cycling as a remedy for everything from climate change to obesity. The current global financial collapse is ‘œperhaps the best opportunity we will ever see’ to build environmental sustainability into the nation’s infrastructure. With an eye on the potential stimulus package, cycling advocates ‘œhave compiled a list of $2 billion of projects that can be under construction in 90 days’.
Archive for category Environment
Parental concerns about children’s inactivity are not associated with a supportive home environment
Jan 27
A sample of 615 parents of 5-6-year-old children and 947 parents of 10-12-year-old children completed a questionnaire in Australia. Just over 50% of parents reported they were concerned their child was not getting enough activity. These findings suggest that parents who are concerned about their child’s physical activity levels provided a less supportive environment for physical activity than parents who are not concerned. The challenge for public health will be to harness parental concerns and translate them into action.
This study aimed to examine children’s access to places in their neighborhood for active free play and how these vary by age, sex and socioeconomic status (SES). One-third (32%) of children reported an independent mobility range of <100 m from home. In conclusion, for some children opportunities to engage in active free play in the local neighborhood may be limited due to lack of parks in close proximity to home and restricted independent mobility. It is important to collaborate with local governments, urban planners and community groups to improve access to neighborhood parks and to promote a sense of neighborhood safety. Read more
152 boys and 192 girls aged 10-12 years were folllowed for three years. Sibling physical activity and environmental stimuli for sedentary behaviours and physical activity within the home may be important targets for prevention of weight gain during the transition from childhood to adolescence.
The 2008 Outdoor Recreation Participation Report is based on an on-line survey capturing responses from over 60,000 Americans ages six and older and covers 114 different outdoor activities, making it the largest survey of its type examining participation in sports and outdoor activities.
This article presents a summarization of the literature on the built environment and its association with physical activity, diet, and obesity among African Americans. With only 17 articles eligible for inclusion into the review, more research is needed to draw conclusions on features of the built environment that are associated with physical activity, diet, and obesity.
7669 individuals aged 18+ from 143 neighborhoods in Portugal reported body height and weight. Results include that different environmental factors are significantly associated with excess weight and obesity, either directly or indirectly (e.g. health-related behaviors such as eating patterns and physical activity, which are key mediators), after adjustment for individual characteristics.
What if free exercise classes were offered in public spaces such as parks, beaches and recreation centers? When a city government in Brazil tried such a program, it greatly increased physical activity among community members. A group of health researchers who studied the program believes it could also work in US cities with warm climates.
Counselling via phone and e-mail were compared with the standard practice of issuing self-help literature in approximately 1400 Dutch workers as an aid to weight management. The authors concluded that lifestyle counselling by phone and e-mail is effective for weight management. Find the original paper here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19134171?dopt=Abstract
Can lifestyle changes really improve people’s health? In this WHO podcast you can learn about new evidence from research conducted in Iran. Amongst a large number of interventions also you can find the introducing half-portions in restaurants and fast food eateries and advocating for the development of bicycle lanes in the city. Read the orginal article here: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/87/1/07-049841.pdf