Physical Activity Update | Eat Smart, Move More…NC

The PAN Branch is pleased to announce that Erin Banks joined our staff on July 31 2006. Erin is working part-time and is developing and beginning implementation of an evaluation plan for the African-American Churches Eating Smart Moving More initiative. Erin is a student working to earn her PhD in Psychology in the Public Interest at NCSU.

Eat Smart Move More NC Ads

The PAN Branch and the Eat Smart Move More Leadership Team is happy to announce that television and radio ads promoting Eat Smart, Move More…NC messages are currently on the air. As part of a comprehensive communications plan, the ads are aimed at influencing consumer behaviors regarding healthy eating and physical activity. So between now and early September, keep your eyes and ears open for our ads encouraging people to eat more meals at home, right size their portions, eat more fruits and veggies, breastfeed their babies, re-think their drinks, tame the tube and move more everyday. For more information about Eat Smart, Move More…NC, a statewide movement encouraging healthy eating and physical activity wherever people live, learn, earn,play and pray, please visit this link.

Programs, Projects and Initiatives

Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge

Action for Healthy Kids, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and working with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Education, National PTA and other leading organizations, will inform, motivate, and mobilize support for school wellness good nutrition and physical activity that supports learning.

It is an all-inclusive, fun event for students, parents, teachers, administrators, and others to celebrate coming back-to-school with a fresh approach. The Game On! program integrates nutrition, physical activity and learning through a series of activity stations that will stimulate minds and bodies. Participation by adults and children, not performance, is rewarded. Action for Healthy Kids will offer an on-line toolkit of materials to help its teams, partner organizations, local PTAs, and schools host local events between August 1st and October 1.

Partners are working with districts, communities and schools to host back-to-school events in every state culminating with a national event on the afternoon of October 5, 2006, in Washington, D.C. For more information go to this site.

Steps to a HealthierUS

The Steps to a HealthierUS Cooperative Agreement Program is excited to announce the launch of our new web site. This new site is a great place to access the latest information about the Steps Program, including community successes, partnership activities, and related resources.

The Steps Program, part of the president’s larger HealthierUS initiative, funds communities nationwide to implement evidence-based interventions focused on reducing the burden of diabetes, obesity, and asthma, and addressing three related risk behaviors-physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and tobacco use.

Please visit the Web site often at this link, link to it from your site, and let us know if you have any suggestions on how we can continue to provide you the most up-to-date information about how we are addressing our collective goals of chronic disease prevention and health promotion.

Success Stories

Older Adults Feel Healthy and Keep Working

The newly-released Older Americans Update 2006: Key Indicators of Well-Being report includes data on adults 65 years and older. The data is compiled from 13 federal agencies to show a picture of the aging population.

The number of older women in the workplace has increased significantly since the mid-1980s. For women ages 65 to 69, the rates increased from 14% in 1985 to 24% in 2005 and for women ages 62 to 64, from 28% in 1987 to 40% in 2005. Among women 70 and over, 7% worked in 2005.

In 2005, 53% of men ages 62 to 64; 34% of men ages 65 to 69; and 14% of men 70 years and older were working. Median household net worth (the difference between income and assets minus debt) was $215,000 in 2003 for people classified as “white” and $26,300 for people classified as “black.”

Physical activity declined as people grew older. In 2003-2004, 30.5% of people ages 45 to 64 reported engaging in regular leisure time physical activity while 22.4% of those 65 years and older did so. In the same years, 29.7% of men and women 65 years and older were obese.

“Good to excellent health” was reported by 76.2% of whites, 59.9% of blacks and 61.6% of Hispanic or Latino people in 2002-2004. Background information stated that health status represents physical, emotional and social aspects of health and well-being. The most frequently reported chronic health conditions were hypertension (51.9%), arthritis (49.9%), heart disease (31.7%) and cancer (20.6%). For more information go to this site (From ICAA Research Review July 2006, Volume 6, No. 26)

Featured Resources and Research

2006 Foundation Yearbook

Highlights of the Foundation Center’s recently released 2006 Foundation Yearbook can be downloaded. The Yearbook helps grantseekers better understand trends in philanthropic giving by documenting the number, assets, and giving patterns of all active U.S. foundations. Each year, the Yearbook provides comparisons of foundation giving by foundation size, geographic location, and grantmaker type. For more information go to this link.

Increase Daily Activity for a Longer Life

While an association between physical activity, better health and longer life has been found, a direct link between activity and longevity for older adults has been limited, according to researchers who used a unique protocol to measure the effect.

The 302 men and women (ages 70 to 82 years) who participated lived in the community and were high-functioning in that they reported the ability to walk 0.4 meters or climb at least 10 stairs. Their total energy expenditure was measured for 2 weeks using a “doubly labeled water” method. Participants drank the water and provided urine samples, which allowed research to calculate carbon dioxide production and total energy expenditure. Daily activities were recorded during in-person interviews.
The group was divided into 3 categories: high, middle and low levels of activity energy expenditure. Over an average of 6.15 years (1998-2006), 55 participants (18.2%) died. The absolute risk of death was 12.1% in the highest third of activity energy expenditure, 17.6 % in the middle, and 24.7% in the lowest third.

People reporting higher levels of activity were more likely to work for pay and climb stairs.
However, there was no significant difference between the high, middle and low activity groups for high-intensity exercise, such as walking for exercise, walking other than exercise, volunteering and caregiving. The authors suggested that this lack of relationship is due to the inaccuracies of self-reported activity levels.

The message, commented lead author Todd M. Manini, PhD, is that any activity is better than no activity. The authors stated that “simply expending energy through any activity may influence survival in older adults.” SOURCE: JAMA, 296:171 (July 12, 2006) (From ICAA Research Review July 2006, Volume 6, No. 26)

Nominations Sought for Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Award

The Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Program (CHLP) honors 10 outstanding individuals annually for their work in creating or enhancing health care programs serving communities with ignored or unmet needs. Each leader receives $125,000, to be used for personal and program enhancement for up to three years.

CHLP seeks individuals who have the skills to overcome complex obstacles and find creative ways to bring health care services to their communities. Candidates should be working at the grassroots level, have received no significant national recognition and be in “mid-career,” with no fewer than five and no more than 15 years of community health experience.

Letter of intent forms for nominations are due no later than Sept. 22. (from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 7/25/06) For more information, go to this link.

Using Perceived Exertion to Set a Walking Pace

Walking is frequently recommended for older adults as a no-cost way to increase physical activity. A typical health recommendation is to walk at moderate intensity (a level of effort where a person has increased breathing or heart rate, at a perceived exertion of 11 to 14 on the 20-point Borg scale). A small pilot study from Wake Forest University looked at how older adults translated rating of perceived exertion (RPE) to walking on a treadmill or on a track.

Healthy, community-dwelling men (9) and women (14), average 74 years old, participated in a treadmill group or an “overground” group. The treadmill group exercised in groups of 3, and an investigator set the treadmill pace to match the person’s perception of working at an RPE of 13. The overground group walked on a flat indoor track in groups of 8 at an RPE of 13. Everyone walked 3 days a week for 18 sessions, all of which were supervised.

Both groups had the same results for walking velocity, physical function and lateral mobility. The treadmill walkers used a significantly shorter stride length and stride rate than the overground group. The overground group completed a 400 meter walk at a faster pace and reported more enjoyment when walking than the treadmill group. All of the people who used the treadmill chose to use the handrail while walking (which investigators noted eliminated arm swing).

“This was a small pilot study and we need to keep that in mind when assessing the results,” Anthony P. Marsh, PhD, told ICAA Research Review. “However, we believe that our data are quite applicable to an everyday setting where older adults are likely to be regulating their exercise intensity with little guidance or oversight. Our data suggest that older adults are more inclined to walk longer and faster overground compared to on a treadmill.

“It is important to state that any walking is better than none,” added Marsh. For more information go to this link.

Legislation

No Updates at this time.

Grants

Grant Opportunities from National Institutes of Health

School-Based Interventions to Prevent Obesity (R21) - National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.

School-Based Interventions to Prevent Obesity (R01) - National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.

School-Based Interventions to Prevent Obesity (R03) - National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.

These grants encourage the formation of partnerships between academic institutions and school systems in order to develop and implement controlled, school-based intervention strategies designed to reduce the
prevalence of obesity in childhood. They also encourages evaluative comparisons of different intervention strategies, as well as the use of methods to detect synergistic interactions between different types of interventions. For more information on deadlines and eligibility go to this link.

The National Institutes of Health is accepting applications for its Translation Research on the Prevention and Control of Diabetes and Obesity Grant program. The purpose of this program is to promote cost effective and sustainable interventions that translate into real world settings for the prevention and control of diabetes and obesity. Interventions should have the potential to be widely disseminated into clinical practice. Emphasis is placed on proposals that focus on minorities and other high-risk populations. The deadline for submission of applications is October 1, 2006 (for Cycle III).

For more information go to this link. (From National AFHK 7/06).

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will award grants for the implementation of community-based approaches to health and health care problems that interact with social problems such as inadequate housing, poor education, and poverty. The foundation’s Fresh Ideas: Community-Based Approaches to Improve Care for Vulnerable Populations grant program will give priority to projects that focus on hard-to-reach populations such as new immigrants and refugees and at-risk adolescents. Awards will be up to $300,000 for up to three years duration. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Click here for more information and application guidelines. (From National AFHK 7/06)

Women’s Sports Foundation Accepting Applications for RYKA Women’s Fitness Grant Program

Deadline for Applications: September 8, 2006

RYKÄ and the Women’s Sports Foundation have partnered in a program to provide fitness grants to organizations and programs that enhance women’s lives through health and fitness. The purpose of the RYKÄ Women’s Fitness Grant is to provide financial assistance to fitness programs that: 1) empower and enhance the self-esteem of women aged 25 and older; 2) combine fitness activities and health education; and/or 3) serve women recovering from health and/or emotional challenges. All proposals must demonstrate that the applicant will conduct education programs, produce educational materials, provide fitness participation opportunities, or provide other services that increase women’s participation in fitness activities. Programs must demonstrate that they utilize fitness activity participation to empower women, enhance their self-esteem and self-sufficiency, and positively impact their lives. Programs must primarily serve women aged 25 and over. Programs may be new or existing. Organizations must provide proof of 501(c)(3) status. The program will provide one $10,000 grant and eight $5,000 grants. (From NCPPA News 7/14/06) For more information, visit this link.

Fosters Community Grants

Deadline for Applications: September 29, 2006

The beverage company Foster’s will be awarding grants to support community-based projects in three focus areas: wellness, culture and the environment. The Foster’s Community Grants program defines “wellness” as both physical and mental health, “culture” as artistic, sporting and educational activities and “environment” as all aspects of the natural environment. Applications are open to organizations in Australia and the United States. For more information and to access application materials go to this link.

Training and Professional Development

6th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference

February 8-10, 2007
Los Angeles, California

The New Partners for Smart Growth Conference has grown significantly since it began several years ago - increasing in scope, attendance, and prestige - and is now considered to be the “premier” smart growth conference held each year.

The strength of this conference comes from the variety of participants and speakers who cross disciplines to share experiences and insights, and valuable tools and strategies to encourage smart growth implementation and “get it done.”

The 2007 program will span three days and feature cutting-edge smart growth issues, the latest research, implementation tools and strategies, successful case studies, interactive learning experiences, new partners, new projects and new policies. Most importantly, this dynamic event offers you the opportunity to network and coordinate with your peers as well as practitioners from many different disciplines with the same goal - building safe, healthy, and livable communities for all. (From NCPPA News 7/5/06)

Plan to join us, and others, from across the U.S. next February for the smart growth event of the year! On-line registration will be available in October. (From NCPPA News 7/14/06). For more information go to this site.

Second Annual Nemours Conference
October 12-13, 2006
Wilmington, Delaware

Early bird registration for the Second Annual Nemours Conference on Child Health Promotion is now available online—so register by August 31 and get a discount on the registration fee. Nemours Health & Prevention Services (NHPS) will host this event October 12-13, 2006, at the DoubleTree Wilmington Downtown in Wilmington, Delaware. Our conference theme is Nurturing Health: Reshaping the Future for Our Children and our keynote speaker will be David Katz, MD, Director and Co-Founder of Yale Prevention Research Center. The conference will feature presentations by many of the nation’s thought leaders in child health promotion and provide important networking opportunities.

Space is limited at this very popular event! This is one of the nation’s only conferences dedicated to children’s health promotion and disease prevention. Learn more about the conference and register online today at this link. (From CDC Nutrition and Physical Activity Forum)