May 2007

News from the PAN Branch

Active Community and Neighborhood Grant Recipients—May 2007–May 2010

The N.C. Division of Public Health on behalf of the N.C. Public Health Foundation and the John Rex Endowment is pleased to announce the recipients of the Active Community and Neighborhood Grant awards for 2007-2010. The Active Community and Neighborhood Grant Program is providing funding for five organizations in Wake County working towards increasing physical activity in community settings for children, youth, and their families. The Physical Activity and Nutrition Branch in the N.C. Division of Public Health and the N.C. Public Health Foundation will be responsible for the administration of these grant funds, provided by the John Rex Endowment. Please contact Cameron Graham at Cameron.graham@ncmail.net with any questions. More information about the funded projects is available at the Eat Smart, Move More…NC website

North Carolina Action for Healthy Kids Grant—July 2007–June 2008

North Carolina Action for Healthy Kids received a 2007-2008 Action for Healthy Kids Team Grant made possible by Kellogg’s Corporate Citizenship Fund in the amount of $21,450. The grant funds will be used to conduct regional trainings in Spring of 2008 on a series of tools that are being developed for schools for the implementation of local school wellness policy. The trainings are one part of the Successful Students Eat Smart and Move More project, a joint effort of many state and local agencies, including the Department of Public Instruction, the Division of Public Health, the NC School Boards Association and the NC Parent Teacher Association, among many others. The regional trainings are being supported with in-kind from the Department of Public lnstruction’s Child Nutrition program, which is responsible for monitoring local wellness policy in school districts. The grant year begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2008.

Programs, Projects and Initiatives

Start Planning for Game On!

The Action for Healthy Kids program Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge debuted in fall 2006 as a unique activity course that incorporates nutrition lessons and fitness challenges into a fun, non-competitive wellness event for students, parents and communities. Hundreds of schools and communities across the country hosted Game On! events in fall 2006 to motivate students and reinforce healthy eating and physical activity. Game On! will return this fall, so plan now for your school and community’s Game On! event. For more information and to learn about Game On! and its success in the pilot year, go to this site. (From Action for Healthy Kids April)

National Physical Education and Sport Week

The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) is pleased to announce its 2007 annual May Teacher Toolbox which features a special website devoted to promoting National Physical Education and Sport Week, May 1-7, IS NOW POSTED. The theme, “Active In America,” is designed to share cultural related activities that will help students learn about America while traveling across this great country.

We hope you will enjoy sharing the following activities with your students and colleagues. They were developed to help teachers creatively integrate lessons while teaching national and state standards for physical education.

In NASPE’s May Teacher Toolbox you will also find the popular fitness calendars for elementary and secondary levels in both English and Spanish, a proclamation for National Physical Fitness and Sports Month and a sample press release to send to your local media.
The 2007 National Physical Education and Sport Week website can now be viewed online.

Success Stories

New NC Obesity and Physical Activity Maps Released

To provide local health officials with information they can use to identify areas of success and concern as they work to reduce rates of obesity in their communities, the N.C. Division of Public Health has compiled maps showing each county’s percentage of overweight and obese adults, as well their percentage of adults meeting daily physical activity requirements. Using data from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), North Carolina counties have been color-coded according to the percentage of adults in that county reporting a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or higher. A BMI of 25 or higher indicates that a person is likely overweight or obese and may be at increased risk for a variety of chronic diseases.

An additional color-coded map indicates the percentages of adults meeting daily physical activity requirements throughout the state. Both maps are available on the Eat Smart, Move More…NC website.

Featured Resources and Research

Prevalence of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Physical Activity by Race/ Ethnicity US, 2005

This report, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes racial/ethnic differences in the combined prevalence of engaging in two behavioral strategies for reducing the risk for chronic disease: consuming fruits and vegetables five or more times per day and engaging in regular physical activity. For more information go to this site. (From [Enewsletter] NCPPA News, 4/5/07).

Use National Bike Month to Promote Safe Routes to School

As National Bike Month, this May is the perfect time to organize a Bike to School event, encouraging children to forego buses and carpools for fresh air and fun, showing parents that there are safe routes for children to bike to school is an important aspect of any Bike to School event.

Bike “trains” from different parts of town-with parents leading them and picking up other students along the way to school -are a good way to get started. Distributing maps with safe routes highlighted allows other parents to try the routes themselves.

Once students and parents arrive at school by bike, have a festival waiting for them with healthy snacks and information on how biking to school helps them and the environment. Consider a contest where the classroom with the most biking students wins bikes bells, water bottles, or other bonus bike prizes.

The important message is that biking to school is fun, health, and feasible. Use National Bike Month to get the word out! Find out more about how you can get children biking to school at this site.
(From Safe Routes to School E-News: April 2007).

Shaping America’s Youth National Initiative

Programs working in areas related to decreasing obesity and increasing physical activity in children are invited to participate in the online survey from Shaping America’s Youth, (SAY).

Already, more than 1,100 programs have completed the survey and provided information on populations, methods, funding, and outcomes. The information is available in SAY’s searchable national program registry.

Data from the SAY survey was used by the Institute of Medicine to assess the current status of interventions for its recent report Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up? The survey, program registry, and a wide array of childhood obesity information and resources are available at this site. (From Safe Routes to School E-News: April 2007).

The Built Environment and Physical Activity: What is the Relationship?

The RWJF Synthesis Project aims to provide this needed bridge between research and policy-making. By synthesizing what is known, while weighing the strength of the research evidence and exposing gaps in current knowledge, the project gives decision-makers reliable information and new insights on complex policy issues.

This report critically examines the evidence on the relationship of the built environment and physical activity.

It is part of an ongoing Robert Wood Johnson Foundation initiative, the Synthesis Project, to produce relevant, concise, and thought-provoking briefs and reports synthesizing and distilling research evidence on today’s important health policy issues.

The report will be available on the project web site on April 19th. (From CDC’s and NSPAPPH Physical Activity One-Way Listserv, April 17th, 2007).

The State of Aging and Health in America 2007 Report

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The Merck Company Foundation at the 2007 Joint Conference of the American Society on Aging and the National Council on Aging in March 2007.

The State of Aging and Health in America 2007 report presents the most current national data available on 15 key health indicators for older adults related to health status, health behaviors, preventive care and screening, and injuries.

The “State-by-State Report Card“ provides similar information for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and enables states to see where they are on each indicator as well as in relation to other states. For more information, see this site. (From CDC’s and NSPAPPH Physical Activity One-Way Listserv, April 17th, 2007).

Inclusive Pedestrian Environments: Resources and Recommendations

This project addresses pedestrian environments as a key factor in the nation’s access to and use of public transportation by people with disabilities. The intent was to produce a comprehensive, annotated collection of current materials that address the training of practitioners and the creation, design and maintenance of accessible pedestrian environments that would identify gaps in the current body of knowledge and patterns of training and practice in order to enable ESPA and others to focus future activities.

Almost 400 sources were identified and approximately 150 were chosen for inclusion. Those varied from textbooks to state and municipal pedestrian design guides to research articles, web-based information and multi-media material culled from several fields.

A set of hypotheses were developed and refined with the National Advisory Board as patterns emerged. Those form the basis of the recommendations. Complete report available at this site.
(From CDC’s and NSPAPPH Physical Activity One-Way Listserv, April 26th, 2007)

Physical Activity Protects Against Dementia in Oldest-Old

Among 66 healthy adults over 85 years (average age 88.5), 11 women and 12 men reported 4 hours per week or more of exercise. After an average of 4.7 years, 38 people developed cognitive impairment. The more active women (greater than 4 hours/week) had an 88% reduced risk of cognitive impairment compared to women who were less active. Less-active women were twice as likely to experience cognitive impairment as less-active men.
SOURCE: Journal of Aging and Health, 19(2):242 (April 2007). (From ICAA Research Review April 2007, Volume 7, No.14).

HHS Secretary Announces Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Members

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced today the members of the advisory committee that will make recommendations pertaining to the development of the first federal guidelines to focus on physical activity.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans is to be issued in late 2008. The report will provide science-based recommendations on the latest knowledge about activity and health, with depth and flexibility to target specific population subgroups, such as seniors, children, and persons with disabilities. Secretary Leavitt announced the initiative in October.

“These experts have a broad array of knowledge of the health value of physical activity,” Secretary Leavitt said. “I look forward to working with them to develop evidence-based guidelines on physical activity levels.”

The advisory committee will hold its first meeting June 28 and 29, 2007. The committee will survey the history of physical activity guidelines in the U.S., and be introduced to the systematic evidence review process that will form the basis of the deliberations. The committee will also examine that can be used as the basis of the guidelines and make suggestions on what should be included. The department will consider the research and the committee’s recommendations as it develops guidelines.

The Members of the Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee can be found at this site.
(From HHS News Release Friday, April 27, 2007).

Legislation

No updates at this time

Grants

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commits $500 Million to Reverse Childhood Obesity

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) announced on April 4 that it will commit at least $500 million over the next five years to tackle one of the most urgent public health threats facing our nation: childhood obesity. This is the largest commitment by any foundation to this issue. The Foundation’s goal is to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States by 2015.

See the full release at the Robert Wood Foundation website. (From Safe Routes to School E-News: April 2007)

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Call for Proposals-Active Living Research, Round 7
Deadline for Applications: May 16, 2007

Active Living Research is a $12.5-million national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that stimulates and supports research to identify environmental factors and policies that influence physical activity.

The purpose of this call for proposals is to increase our understanding of how environments and policies affect children’s physical activity in community and school settings.

Grants will be awarded for two research topics:

• Examination of how children’s and parents’ perceptions of community and recreation environments are related to objective attributes of the environments and how those perceptions affect their desire to use the environments for physical activity.
• Evaluation of policy interventions to promote physical activity in schools.

Preference may be given to applicants that may be either public entities or nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c), (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Proposals should demonstrate the potential to produce high-quality, scientifically sound research that could be used to inform policy-makers about environmental and policy changes that could increase levels of physical activity and prevent childhood obesity in the United States. For more information go to this site.
(From [Enewsletter] NCPPA News, 4/5/07).

Hamburger Helper Announces Grant Program for Local Communities Across America
Deadline for Applications: May 31, 2007

Hamburger Helper, a General Mills food brand, is looking to lend a “helping hand” to neighborhoods across the United States with its “My Hometown Helper” grant program. Individuals from communities and organizations across America can visit the program’s Web site to submit a written essay describing how the “My Hometown Helper” grant would help improve their community project.

Examples of possible community projects include: lights or bleachers for baseball, soccer, or football fields; playground equipment for a park; new uniforms for Little League teams, etc.

Applicants can request a one-time award of between $500 and $15,000 during any single month. All requests for funding must be sponsored by a municipal or civic organization or public school. The program will award “helping hand” grants each month from online applications received through May 2007.

Applications will be evaluated monthly. Funds will be awarded based on the merit of the project, including its impact on and support within the community. For more information on the “My Hometown Helper” program and complete guidelines, visit the program’s Web site at this site. (From [Enewsletter] NCPPA News, 4/5/07).

Mattel Offers for Programs Serving Children in Need
Deadline for Applications: June 15, 2007

Mattel and the Mattel Children’s Foundation have announced the third year of the company’s Domestic Grantmaking Program.

Through the program, U.S. charitable organizations that can demonstrate they directly serve children in need may be eligible for one-year grants of $5,000 to $20,000 each. Funds may be applied to programs or general operating costs. To be eligible, applicant organizations must have 501(c)(3) tax- exempt status.

Organizations must serve children in communities within the U.S.; have a mission that focuses on the direct service of children up to the age of 12; be able to demonstrate creative and/or innovative methods to address locally defined need directly impacting children; have an annual operating budget of less than $1 million; and not be affiliated in any way with a national organization, regardless of whether funds are received from the national entity.

Applicant organizations or programs must align with Mattel’s philanthropic priorities:

1. Learning, increasing access to education for underserved children, and in particular innovative strategies designed to promote and address literacy;
2. Health, supporting the physical health and well-being of children, with particular emphasis on promoting healthy, active lifestyles
3. Girl Empowerment, promoting self-esteem in young girls up to the age of 12.

Two types of grants will be considered, Program-specific grants for the launch of new programs or the expansion of existing programs and Core operating support. For more information, visit the Mattel website. (From [Enewsletter] NCPPA News, 4/5/07).

United States Golf Association Offers Grants to Make Golf More Affordable and Accessible
Deadline for Applications: July 6, 2007

Through its ongoing For the Good of the Game Grants Program, the United States Golf Association supports organizations that introduce the game to people who would otherwise not have the opportunity to play.

This annual initiative focuses on positively impacting young people (minorities, girls, the economically disadvantaged, and others with limited access to the game of golf) and individuals with disabilities through instructional programming and golf facility construction projects, as well as caddie and other work-based programs.

The USGA will consider funding requests for the following items provided the applicant is committed to the goals of the grants program and its target population(s): course and practice range access; golf instruction; golf equipment, including adaptive golf equipment for individuals with disabilities; transportation provided for participants to attend programming; and certain construction costs for alternative, beginner-friendly golf courses and golf facilities in areas where there are obstacles to affordable access to the game.

The amount and duration of grants awarded vary greatly based on the type of organization, proposal, and needs specified. All grant recipients must be tax-exempt, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations or government entities such as schools or municipalities. For more information go to this site (From [Enewsletter] NCPPA News, 4/5/07).

Training and Professional Development

Play Area Accessibility Guidelines
On-Line Training Program

The US Access Board released an On-Line Training Program on the Play Area
Accessibility Guidelines on April 23, 2007. This program is intended to
provide training for designers and operators in using the accessibility
guidelines for play areas. Additionally, this training can be a resource for
parents, teachers, and others interested in play area accessibility. It was
developed as a collaborative with several organizations including the
National Center on Accessibility and the National Parks and Recreation
Association among others.

The interactive program explains how to apply and follow the guidelines for
proper access. It covers the scope and application of the guidelines, including the number of play components required to be accessible, and technical provisions for accessible play equipment, surfacing in play areas, ramp and transfer system access to elevated structures, and access to soft contained play structures.

The course covers all sections of the guidelines, which are one of the first of their kind in providing detailed criteria for accessible play areas.

In addition, multiple choice exams are provided for each segment of the program. You can access the program from the Access Board web site at www.access-board.gov.

International Conference on Physical Activity And Obesity In Children

International Conference on Physical Activity And Obesity In Children
June 24-27, 2007
Toronto, Canada

The conference aims to inform the development of a scientifically-based community strategy to reduce the incidence of childhood and youth obesity through increased sport and physical activity participation. Visit this site for more information.
(From [Enewsletter] NCPPA News, 4/5/07).

The Physical Activity and Public Health Course (PAPH)

The Physical Activity and Public Health Course (PAPH)
The Sea Pines Resort
Hilton Head, South Carolina
September 11-19, 2007

Scholarship information offered for the practitioner’s 6-day course: To be eligible for the Anne Seeley scholarship, applicants must work in transportation, land use planning, parks and recreation, or other non-public health fields. Those who wish to be considered for the scholarship must clearly indicate this in their PAPH course application.

Sponsored by the University of South Carolina Prevention Research Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is entering its 13th year of successful training for researchers and public health practitioners. The PAPH course offerings feature an 8-day Postgraduate Course on Research Directions and Strategies and a 6-day Practitioner’s Course on Community Interventions.

The faculties for the courses are composed of nationally recognized experts in public health research and practice.

Applications for the PAPH course and scholarships are due by May 15, 2007. For more information, interested applicants should go to this site,
Or contact Jerrica Mathis, Public Health Program Assistant, National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, at 770-458-7400, or jmathis@chronicdisease.org
(From CDC’s and NSPAPPH Physical Activity One-Way Listserv, April 26th, 2007).