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KaBOOM! Community Playground Resources

Center TRT is excited to announce the posting of KaBOOM!, whose vision is "a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America."

It all started with one playground that was built in Washington, DC in 1995.  Now all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Canada have a KaBOOM! play spaces. There are over 3,700 play spaces reaching four million children ages 2-12. 

KaBOOM! provides access to its step-by-step process called the Community-Build Model at no cost for anyone interested in completing a community-build playground. There are KaBOOM!-led builds, which include leadership from a KaBOOM! Project Manager, and do-it-yourself builds. 

Interested in having more opportunities for play in your community, visit the Center TRT website where you can find detailed information on this intervention, including the resources required; the implementation process; evidence in support of the potential for public health impact; and intervention materials to support replication efforts in your communities. | Center TRT KaBOOM! Website

September is Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

Congress has proclaimed September 2010 as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. Other national, state and city leaders are called on to support and observe the month.

Over the past four decades obesity rates in the United States have soared among all age groups. This rise in obesity rates has affected our youth in a particularly alarming fashion. Childhood obesity has increased more than fourfold among those ages 6 to 11. Over 23 million children and teenagers in the United States ages 2 to 19 are obese or overweight, a statistic that health and medical experts consider an epidemic. And this epidemic puts nearly one third of America's children at early risk for Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and even stroke - conditions usually associated with adulthood. Even greater disparities exist among young Hispanics and children of color.

But there are opportunities every day to change these trends. And this September, there is an extraordinary opportunity to build awareness and take action - nationally, as well as in your state, city, workplace and home.

This is a chance for both organizations and individuals to take steps within your family and in your community to help reverse the rise of childhood obesity. Find resources and tools build awareness in your community on the National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month website. | National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

New SRTS Fact Sheet is a Great Back to School Resource

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership recently created a two-page fact sheet, Safe Routes to School: Taking Steps to Increase Physical Activity Levels and Create Healthy, Livable Communities, that is a perfect back-to-school resource for advocates working at the state, district and local levels to help make the case for Safe Routes to School.

Full of statistics and numbers, the fact sheet is balanced by compelling photos and quotes from parents, principals and more, to help tell the story of how walking and bicycling to school is no longer the norm and how Safe Routes to School aims to change this.

Use the fact sheet in your work in the upcoming school year, and to share it with others who would find it helpful. | Safe Routes to School: Taking Steps to Increase Physical Activity Levels and Create Healthy, Livable Communities

Increasing Physical Activity Through Community Design - A Guide for Public Health Practitioners

The Increasing Physical Activity Through Community Design -- A Guide for Public Health Practitioners and Livable Community Advocates (IPA Guide, for short) is a thoroughly revamped version of the 2002 original, which has been read by tens of thousands of people.

The original IPA Guide was one of the first mainstream publications to not only make the connection between community design and people’s levels of physical activity and health, but it went a step further by showing the reader how to make the changes needed to start reversing this alarming trend of obesity and physical inactivity.

While the 2002 version was ahead of its time, the 2010 update is very much a publication of its moment: the refrain of livability can be heard from a number of Cabinet members, and witnessed in programs such as the CDC’s Communities Putting Prevention to Work program, and the HUD Community Challenge Planning Grants; the First Lady has made children’s nutrition and physical activity one of her top priorities; and the Guide serves as a capstone for the Active Living Resource Center’s nearly 10 years of field work by incorporating many of the lessons we have learned from providing technical assistance to communities—many of them being communities with low resources and high needs. | Increasing Physical Activity Full Guide | National Center for Biking and Walking Publications

Looking for Healthy School Heroes

It’s that time again: Action for Healthy Kids wants to recognize our super passionate volunteers - Healthy School Heroes - whose hard work has improved the nutrition and physical activity of kids in school.

To be considered, candidates must be Action for Healthy Kids volunteers; have demonstrated outstanding contributions to the mission, vision and goals of the organization; and have shown commitment to combating the epidemic of undernourished and overweight children by working to make schools healthier places. | Nominate a Healthy School Hero | Action for Healthy Kids

Preventing Violence to Promote Healthy Eating and Active Living

A new report was released by the Prevention Institute called Addressing the Intersection: Preventing Violence and Promoting Healthy Eating and Active Living. Violence and fear of violence is consistently identified as a major barrier to healthy eating and active living, especially in low income communities. This report explores the intersections between these two factors and how violence prevention can be utilized to prevent chronic diseases and promote healthier communities. | Prevention Violence and Promoting Healthy Eating and Active Living | Prevention Institute

Environmental and Policy Change for Healthy Aging Learning Opportunities

If you work in the field of aging services, public health, planning, architecture, engineering, recreation, transportation, or health care, and want to become more effective in planning and implementing environmental and policy change, you are invited to participate in an interactive online learning initiative on Environmental and Policy Change for Healthy Aging.The initiative on Environmental and Policy Change for Healthy Aging is produced by the CDC Healthy Aging Research Network.

This initiative aims to build capacity for change and offers a variety of opportunities for learning, sharing, and networking. It features four online modules, scheduled September 2010 through January 2011, each module covering an essential topic in healthy aging. Every module begins with a pre-recorded presentation that introduces key concepts for the module topic. This presentation is followed in two weeks by an interactive webinar. Two days following the webinar, the module offers a moderated online conversation.

Module topics:
  • Introduction to Environmental and Policy Change for Healthy Aging
  • Optimal Living Environments for Healthy Aging
  • Integrated Approaches to Mobility
  • Emerging Environmental Issues in Healthy Aging
Policy, practice, and partnerships will be addressed as well as special issues. Panelists and speakers are national and community experts in aging, planning, policy, universal design, transportation, public health, environmental protection, and community change. Funding by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality makes this initiative available to all at no charge. | Sign up to receive registration information | For more information: Email hanepc@uw.edu or visit www.prc-han.org. | Aging Friendly

New Safe Routes Resource Library

Safe Routes to School National Partnership Creates A Library of Resourcesthat brings together various documents on Safe Routes to School policies and program initiatives.
 
Resources are listed according to their policy or program area and include a variety of document types, including articles, Partnership publications and other full-text materials that can be accessed from www.saferoutespartnership.org or elsewhere online.
 
While the resource library is intended to support the efforts of our State Network Organizers in their policy advocacy and advancement work, it also provides useful information for others in the Safe Routes to School movement. | Library of Resources | Safe Routes Partnership

Active School Neighborhood Checklist

The Active School Neighborhood Checklist (ASNC) provides decision makers with a quantitative tool for evaluating the potential long-term health impacts of candidate school sites on the children who will attend them. The logic of ASNC is based on existing research that the built environment can have an effect on either encouraging or preventing people of all ages from walking and bicycling safely to various destinations. | Active School Neighborhood Checklist | Smart Growth Online

Social Marketing for Physical Activity Promotion

The Social Marketing for Nutrition and Physical Activity Web course trains public health professionals in the basics of social marketing with an emphasis on implementing nutrition and physical activity social marketing programs. The course includes the following seven modules: Social Marketing Basics, Problem Description, Formative Research, Strategy Development, Intervention Design, Evaluation, and Implementation. Students have a chance to interact with and provide advice to a fictional program planner who is struggling with common challenges. The course includes tips for working with limited resources, worksheets, a glossary, and links to multiple resources. | Social Marketing for Physical Activity Promotion

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MN PA e-news is a free statewide information network open to individuals and organizations interested in physical activity. Minnesota Physical Activity e-news (MN PA e-news) are distributed to all those interested in promoting physical activity, and includes physical activity information on grants, resources, programs, conferences and more. To subscribe: email health.activeliving@state.mn.us or visit www.health.state.mn.us/physicalactivity,

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