The aim of this paper is to present a set of evidence-based initiatives that could be launched as part of a comprehensive public health approach to promoting physical activity and preventing obesity in young people. The nine initiatives presented are to: establish comprehensive school physical activity programming; demand high quality physical education; require physical activity in early child care and education; require physical activity in afterschool programs; create equity in community resources; activate youth sports programs; re-normalize active transport to school; institutionalize clinic-based physical activity assessment and counseling; and build activity-friendly homes. Though this article is not specifically about the role nature, the importance of equitable access to such physical activity facilities as neighborhood parks is addressed by one or more of the initiatives.
The concern addressed by these initiatives is that, despite the extensive evidence that physical activity provides adolescents with important health benefits, most children and adolescents in developed nations do not meet the accepted physical activity guidelines and are at increased risk for being overweight and obese. According to the authors, what is needed to adequately address this concern is a comprehensive approach to implementing effective intervention strategies at the community, state/province, and national levels. While they recognize that each of the nine initiatives presented in this paper can help promote physical activity in adolescents at the community level, it is unlikely that any initiative alone could produce the desired outcome. Success, they suggest, is more likely if a comprehensive approach is used which includes all nine of the initiatives and if they are implemented in a coordinated way.
Research Partner