Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Rodney Lyn, MS, Eryn Marchiolo, BS, CHES, Kimberly Austin, BA, and Valerie Hepburn, MPA. Institute of Public Health, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3995, Atlanta, GA 30302-3995, (404 ) 651-3723, alhrsl@langate.gsu.edu

Childhood overweight is a complex problem that has posed a daunting challenge to the public health community. Although the etiology of overweight remains unclear, it seems reasonable that the causal factors are numerous. Efforts to mitigate the prevalence of overweight, therefore, must utilize a comprehensive socio-ecological approach which encompasses an amalgam of perspectives, expertise, and strategy.

Policy Leadership for Active Youth (PLAY) is a three-year policy research initiative aimed at identifying evidence-based strategies to increase physical activity, decrease sedentary behavior, and prevent childhood overweight. PLAY is a unique collaborative effort between three state research universities in Georgia. The initiative brings together researchers from public health, pediatric medicine, exercise physiology, nutrition, psychology, and public administration to translate existing evidence into policy recommendations that have the potential to effectuate changes in practice related to physical activity.

PLAY serves as a focal point for policy development by engaging key policy-makers, advocates, educators, public health officials, and the medical community in the formation of a statewide leadership council, which serves as the nucleus for organizing a public-private partnership constituency to promote healthy weight, nutrition, and physical activity policies and practices in Georgia. PLAY has evaluated the evidence around the effectiveness of school-based physical activity and developed recommendations designed to increase access to physical activity for children in the school environment. PLAY is also assessing the role of the family, community, and built-environment in encouraging physical activity and healthy weight.

Learning Objectives:

• Articulate the merits of collaboration between varied constituencies in addressing childhood overweight.
• Identify potential opportunities for public-private partnerships among local stakeholders within the community.
• Identify evidence-based strategies to increase access to physical activity for youth.

Keywords: Obesity, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered