Researchers from National Center for Environmental Health at CDC in the US found that working across sectors to incorporate a health promotion approach in the design and development of built environment components may mitigate climate change, promote adaptation, and improve public health.
Archive for category Environment
A signage intervention increased PA by 18.6% on a college campus by providing educational health tips that may have served as motivation to choose the stairs. Authors observed 18,389 ascending trips during the 3 weeks of the study.
3831 kids aged 3–16 years who lived at the same address for 24 consecutive months in Indiana were follwed. Greenness may present a target for environmental approaches to preventing child obesity since higher greenness was significantly associated with lower BMI z-scores regardless of residential density characteristics. This study will be published in American Journal of Preventive Medicine in December.
This is a study of walkability of local build environment in 898 zones in Canada.
This systematic review and meta-analysis is based on 21 papers describing 19 peer-reviewed studies published between 1966 and October 2004. Combination nutrition and physical activity interventions are effective at achieving weight reduction in school settings. Several promising strategies for addressing obesity in the school setting are suggested by Dr. David Katz and colleagues.
Gardening for PA
Jan 7
Gardening is a very popular leisure activity for adults aged 65 or older in the US. A recent study set out to determine if gardening enables older adults to meet the official PA recommendations. The study was conducted on 14 gardeners aged 63-86 years. Subjects reported, on average, gardening about 33 hours per week during May, but averaged only 15 hours per week in June and July. The researchers concluded that gardening is a great way for older adults to meet the physical activity recommendations.
1994 older adults in 147 neighbourhoods of Eindhoven in the Netherlands took part. Participants in the lowest educational group and lowest income group were more likely to report no recreational walking than their higher status counterparts. This can largely be explained by better neighbourhood aesthetics, and individual cognitions towards physical activity. Intervention and policy strategies to reduce socioeconomic differences in lack of recreational walking among older adults would be most effective if they intervene on both neighbourhood perceptions as well as individual cognitions.
1307 10-11 year kids from 23 schools in a large UK city took part. PA was recorded, so was height and weight. Kids independent mobility was measured. Independent mobility appears to be an important independent correlate of weekday physical activity for both boys and girls.
Australian researchers have found that young teens who spend more than two hours in front of the TV or computer each day showed less endurance during a standard running test than their peers.
The report will address how the physical environment influences behaviour, and how this environment can be changed in ways that increase cancer-protective behaviour. It is intended for Multinational Bodies, National and International Civil Society Organisations, Governments, Workplaces and Institutions, Schools, Health and Other Professionals, Media and Food, Drink, Physical Activity and Allied Industries.