Evidence-based policy proposals to promote physical activity in schools and communities

National and international public health groups have developed a consensus that environmental and policy changes are critical to improving physical activity and preventing obesity in the population. There are many hypothesized environmental and policy influences on physical activity in communities, buildings, schools, workplaces, and recreation facilities. In many policy areas evidence is lacking, but research is progressing rapidly. This presentation highlights two areas in which data are available to guide practice now. The first is the strong association of community designs that support walking with physical activity and weight status. Numerous studies show people living in mixed use neighborhoods with connected streets walk more, have more total physical activity, and are less likely to be overweight or obese than people in more automobile-oriented neighborhoods. These findings apply to people of all ages, and new findings that the benefits of walkable neighborhoods apply to youth will be presented. The second well-studied topic is school physical education (PE), which is a unique policy area because PE is able affect essentially all children for many years. There are extensive data about the current failure of PE to fulfill its potential to improve children's physical activity and health, yet several evidence-based approaches for improving PE have been documented. Entire PE curricula have been shown to be effective, and other strategies such as reducing class size, training teachers, and enforcing PE requirements also should be effective. Authoritative groups have recommended adoption of policies to support both walkable community designs and activity-focused PE. Specific efforts by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The California Endowment to communicate research findings directly to policymakers and practitioners will be described.