Is there public support for policies promoting physical activity in the United States?

Background: Policies can provide opportunities to improve health behaviors and may be more permanent that individual level interventions. Public support for issues that policies address is essential for successful implementation. Methods: A telephone survey on support for policies related to physical activity in schools, communities, and worksites was completed in August through November 2011 (n = 1,218). The sample included US counties with high obesity and high physical inactivity estimates and counties with low obesity and low physical inactivity estimates. The counties were stratified for proportion to size sampling. Random digit dialing was used for both landline and cell phones. Analysis included descriptive statistics and polytomous proportion modeling. Results: Respondents were mostly women (59%), aged 45-64 (44%), white (84%), college-educated (44%), and similar in obesity prevalence to the US rates. Over 90% reported support for required physical education and 96% supported required recess. There was overall support for complete streets policies and funding for places to be physically active, but less support for public transportation and tax increases to fund the policies. Sex, age, and education were significant correlates for both school and community policies. Race was significant only for community policies. Conclusion: Results show overall support for policies to promote population physical activity in schools and communities. Requiring physical education and recess are highly supported and may be an easier target for policy intervention than issues with less support such as public transportation. Identifying characteristics of groups most likely to support these issues can help to tailor advocacy efforts.