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What the Research Tells Us: The Best Ways to Promote Active Living Barbara McCann September, 2004 What’s the Problem? Americans are on the move… without moving. What’s the Problem? 60% of adults are at risk for diseases associated with inactivity: • obesity & diabetes • heart disease & stroke • some cancers • depression Physical Inactivity • Contributes to the deaths of about 200,000 people each year. • Causes diseases and conditions that cost at least $77 billion a year to treat. Promoting exercise has not worked Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System What is Active Living? A way of life that integrates physical activity into daily routines. But can we get people out of their cars? We already know Urban Form Affects whether people walk, take transit, drive, or bicycle We already know Walking & Physical Activity Affects Weight Affects Chronic Diseases We want to know Urban Form ? Affects Weight Walking & Physical Activity Affects Chronic Diseases New research abounds Obesity and Design • Each additional half-hour driven each day increases obesity risk by 3%. • People with more destinations close to their homes are less likely to be obese. Frank, L. Am. J. Preventive Medicine, 2004 People living in sprawling counties: • Walk less in their leisure time • Have higher body mass indexes • Are more likely to be obese • Are more likely to have high blood pressure. Photo: Congress for the New Urbanism Ewing, R. Am. J. of Health Promotion 2003 What is an Activity-Friendly Environment? A place that makes it easy to make the choice to be physically active, through planned exercise or routine daily activity. Research Summaries Designing for Active Recreation People get more physical activity if their neighborhoods provide a highquality environment for outdoor activity. Access to facilities • People living in areas without many public outdoor recreation facilities were more likely to be overweight. Catlin, T.K. Am. J. of Health Promotion 2003 • The closer people lived to a bikeway, the more likely they were to use it. Troped P.J. Preventive Medicine 2001 Access to facilities helps people get enough activity. Residents meeting recommended activity levels: 50 40 43% 30 20 27% 10 0 no safe place to walk safe places to walk within ten minutes of home Powell, K.E. AJPH 2003 Walkable neighborhoods make a difference Residents in a highly walkable neighborhood engaged in about 70 more minutes per week of moderate and vigorous physical activity than residents in a low-walkability neighborhood. Photo: Michael Ronkin, ODOT Saelens, B. AJPH 2003 Walkable Neighborhoods encourage more walking Older women who live within walking distance of trails, parks or stores recorded significantly higher pedometer readings than women who did not. The more destinations that were close by, the more they walked. Photo: Michael Ronkin, ODOT King, W.C. AJPH 2003 Safety and Weather: surprisingly weak evidence A literature review of health research found little association between crime rates or poor weather and sedentary lifestyles. Photo: Michael Ronkin, ODOT Humpel, N. Am. J. of Preventive Medicine 2002 Designing for Active Transportation •Proximity: Are there places nearby to walk to? •Connectivity: Are there safe and direct ways to make the trip? Proximity People are more likely to commute to work on foot or via bicycle if they: • live in a city center • live close to a nonresidential building • live very close to a grocery or drug store and • have good access to public transportation. Cervero, R. Transportation Research Record 2001 Connectivity People living in areas where more of the street network is a grid take more trips on foot. Illustration: Frank, LD “Health & Community Design” Greenwald, M.J. Transportation Research Record 2001 The impact of facilities is less clear in the research A North Carolina study found that the presence of sidewalks, trails, and street lights had little impact on recreational physical activity. Huston, S. Am. J. Health Promotion, 2003 Walkable neighborhoods encourage trips by bike & foot Portion of residents walking to shops 60 56% 50 40 33% 30 20 People in traditional neighborhoods are more likely to walk to nearby shops. 10 0 traditional suburban Handy, S.L. Transportation Research Record 1996 What about self-selection? •People shift some trips to transit, bicycling, and walking when they move into more walkable neighborhoods. •One-third of residents in sprawling parts of Atlanta would prefer to live in a more walkable neighborhood. Krizek, K.J. Transportation Research Record 2000 Frank, L.D. www.smartraq.net 2003 Walkable neighborhoods have a positive impact on health Middle-aged men who biked or walked to work weighed less and gained weight more slowly, whether or not they engaged in other exercise. Wagner, A. Internatl. J. of Obesity & Related Metabolic Disorders 2001 Walkable neighborhoods have a positive impact on health On average, walkable neighborhoods encourage 15-30 extra minutes of walking per week, enough to lose a pound a year. Saelens, B.E. Annals of Behavioral Medicine 2003 Active Living Research Supports research to learn how we can change the design of communities, parks, and buildings to make it easier for people to lead active lives. Active Living Research A project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Active Living Research • Measurement • of the environment • of activity • Cross-sectional Research • comparing places • Longitudinal Research • Change over time • Effectiveness of interventions Supported Research: Measurement • How do you measure and record the elements that encourage physical activity? • What elements make a street walkable? • What technology can be used for accurate data collection? Supported Research: Environment & Policy What types of communities support active living? What types of parks and trails best support active living? What is the impact of the environment on children and people with low incomes? Supported Research: Effective Interventions What happens when people move to a more walkable community? Are educational interventions more successful in activity-friendly environments? Supported Research: Leveraging Existing Studies Adding an international land-use component to the International Physical Activity Prevalence Study. Adding an environmental component to several ongoing U.S. physical activity studies. Upcoming Research Areas •Case studies •Policy research •The process of policy change The potential to increase active transportation • More than one-quarter of trips in urban areas are a mile or less • Half of all trips are less than three miles. National Household Travel Survey For More Information www.activelivingresearch.org www.bmccann.net