Motivating people to get moving for health and wellness just got easier with Promoting Physical Activity, Second Edition. This guide for community action offers the tools and information you need to help people get off the couch and on their way to healthy living. If you want to encourage your community or group members to hop on their bike, take the stairs, or walk the neighborhood, Promoting Physical Activity, Second Edition, is for you.
Whether you have just become interested in promoting physical activity or are experienced in health and wellness promotion but need new ideas to improve or expand existing programs, this user-friendly resource has the tools you need:

• Information on the benefits of physical activity, such as obesity prevention and management of chronic disease, and goals and guidelines for physical activity that will help you make a case for your intervention programs
  
• A practical overview of recommended evidence-based interventions with advice and examples that will help you carry out the interventions in your community
  
• A flexible blueprint for planning, implementing, and evaluating programs in any community setting, whether alone or in partnership with other organizations
  
• An extensive list of additional resources to assist you in planning interventions, including a directory of agencies and organizations interested in physical activity promotion, excerpts from the Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health, and suggested readings for building your knowledge of physical activity promotion
  
• Real-world examples, suggestions, and tips from a variety of settings to give you multiple perspectives on planning community-based interventions

The newly updated second edition of Promoting Physical Activity discusses emerging topics related to physical activity and public health with a renewed focus on community-wide physical activity interventions. You’ll find up-to-date summaries of the national health objectives and the latest physical activity recommendations for adults, children, and older adults, which can serve as a foundation for your programs. You’ll also find a more in-depth exploration of establishing partnerships in order to enhance the effectiveness and reach of your programs and an expanded discussion of program evaluation.
With Promoting Physical Activity, Second Edition, you don’t have to be an expert in physical activity promotion in order to succeed in getting people moving. The book translates current research into accessible practice, laying out all the information you need to create an intervention that meets your community’s needs. First you’ll look at why physical activity is important and how much activity is needed for general health. Then you’ll learn about three general approaches to promoting physical activity— informational, social and behavioral, and environmental and policy as well as eight types of interventions that research shows are effective in group and community settings. This will help you choose the strategy or combination of strategies that works best for the people you want to reach.
Armed with this information, you’ll be ready to move on to program implementation and evaluation. In addition to the nuts and bolts of planning, you’ll explore topics such as creating effective partnerships, setting program objectives, and measuring program success.
Promoting Physical Activity: A Guide for Community Action, Second Edition, is an essential resource filled with advice, ideas, inspiration, and education to help you bring health and wellness to your community. It provides the information—both scientific and practical—to help you energize existing physical activity intervention programs and use physical activity as a pathway to improving the health and quality of life of those in your community.

Contributors
Preface
Introduction

Part I: Foundations for Physical Activity Promotion
Chapter 1: Health Benefits of Physical Activity
What Is Physical Activity?
What Is Physical Fitness?
Physical Activity and Energy Expenditure
Determinants of the Health Benefits of Physical Activity
Types of Physical Activity
Other Attributes of Physical Activity
Preventive Health Benefits of Physical Activity
Health Benefits of Physical Activity in Children
Prevention of Functional Limitations and Disability
Therapeutic Exericse
Perspective on Physical Activity Risks
Conclusion
Resources

Chapter 2: Physical Activity Recommendations
Healthy People 2010: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives Related to Physical Activity and Physical Fitness
Physical Activity Recommendations for Adults—Historical Considerations
Overview of Current Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults
Current Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults
What’s New About the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines For Americans?
Physical Activity Recommendations for Older Adults—Historical Considerations
Current Physical Activity Guidelines for Older Adults
Physical Activity Recommendations for Children and Adolescents—Historical Considerations
Current Physical Activity Guidelines for Children And Adolescents
Summary
Suggested Readings

Part II: Approaches and Interventions for Changing Physical Activity Behavior
Chapter 3: Informational Approaches to Promoting Physical Activity
Community-Wide Campaigns
Point-of-Decision Prompts

Chapter 4: Behavioral and Social Approaches to Promoting Physical Activity
Enhanced School-Based Physical Education
Individually-Adapted Behavior Change Interventions
Social Support Interventions in Community Settings

Chapter 5: Environmental and Policy Approaches to Promoting Physical Activity
Creation of or Enhanced Access to Places for Physical Activity Combined With Informational Outreach Activities
Community-Scale and Street-Scale Urban Design and Land Use Policies and Practices to Promote Physical Activity

Part III: Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating Your Intervention or Program
Chapter 6: Partnerships
Key Steps to an Effective Partnership
Step 1: Determine Whether a Partnership Is Necessary
Step 2: Determine Whether Potential Partners Have the Capacity and Interest to Support the Physical Activity Partnership
Step 3: Recruit Partners
Step 4: Establish Leadership
Step 5: Determine One or More Common Goals
Step 6: Determine the Partner’s Level of Involvement and Cooperation in the Partnership
Step 7: Define the Partnership’s Operational Structure
Step 8: Keep the Long-Term Goal in View
Step 9: Start with Reasonable Short-Term Objectives
Step 10: Evaluate the Partnership
Conclusion
Recommended Readings

Chapter 7: Program Planning and Evaluation
Program Planning
Program Evaluation
Conclusion
Suggested Readings

Part IV: Resources for Action
Appendix A. Physical Activity and Disability by James H. Rimmer, PhD
Appendix B. Physical Activity Surveillance by Sandra A. Ham
Appendix C. Physical Activity and Fitness (HP 2010 Progress Review)
Appendix D. Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (Executive Summary)
Appendix E. Resources
Glossary
References
Index
About the Organization
About the Editors