Community Readiness Assessment of the "Take TIME for Your Child's Health" Intervention.

Take TIME (Tobacco-free, Injury-free, Moving daily, Eating healthy) was an early intervention strategy targeting community readiness to support healthy lifestyles for young children in Uxbridge, Canada. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of Take TIME using the Community Readiness Model adapted for childhood obesity prevention. Six interviews were completed in Uxbridge, before and after the intervention, with purposively selected community leaders in education, political, business, religious, not-for-profit, and healthcare fields. Each interview was rated independently by two scorers. Interview content was scored (scale from 1 to 9, with 1 being no awareness and 9 being a high level of community ownership) according to the Community Readiness Model criteria on six dimensions, with overall readiness calculated as the mean score of all dimensions. T-tests compared readiness by time-point and between communities. Overall community readiness significantly improved (p = 0.03) in Uxbridge from pre-intervention (3.63 ± 1.14 vague awareness) to post-intervention (5.21 ± 0.97 preparation). Seven interviews were also completed with leaders in the matched town of Rockwood, Canada which served as the control community. Rockwood readiness was close to the Uxbridge post-intervention score (5.35 ± 1.11). Results indicated increased awareness and leadership support post-intervention in Uxbridge, but further improvements in community knowledge, formalized efforts, and additional leadership support are desired. Take TIME increased community readiness to support healthy lifestyles for young children and may be useful to other communities at similar stages, given its theoretical alignment with the community readiness model. Future research should investigate the impact of Take TIME in demographically diverse communities and appropriate interventions to move communities from the preparation to the action stage.

A framework for evaluating community-based physical activity promotion programmes in Latin America.

A growing interest in promoting physical activity through multi-sectoral community-based programmes has highlighted the need for effective programme evaluation. Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, an international workgroup of behavioural, medical, public health and other scientists and practitioners endorsed the principle of careful evaluation of all programmes and in a consensus process developed the Rio de Janeiro Recommendations for Evaluation of Physical Activity Interventions". Among these recommendations and principles were that when possible, evaluation should 'built into' the programme from the beginning. The workgroup also called for adequate funding for evaluation, setting a goal of about 10% of programme resources for evaluation. The group also determined that evaluations should be developed in conjunction with and the results shared with all appropriate stakeholders in the programme; evaluations should be guided by ethical standards such as those proposed by the American Evaluation Association and should assess programme processes as well as outcomes; evaluation outcomes should be used to revise and refine ongoing programmes and guide decisions about programme continuation or expansion. It was also recognised that additional training in programme evaluation is needed and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Physical Activity Evaluation Handbook could be easily adapted for use in culturally diverse communities, especially in Latin America. This paper describes a 6-step evaluation process and provides the full set of recommendations from the Rio de Janeiro Workgroup. The handbook has been translated and additional case studies from Colombia and Brazil have been added. Spanish and Portuguese language editions of the Evaluation Handbook are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Physical Activity and Health Branch.

Individuals underestimate moderate and vigorous intensity physical activity.

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether the common physical activity (PA) intensity descriptors used in PA guidelines worldwide align with the associated percent heart rate maximum method used for prescribing relative PA intensities consistently between sexes, ethnicities, age categories and across body mass index (BMI) classifications. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to determine whether individuals properly select light, moderate and vigorous intensity PA using the intensity descriptions in PA guidelines and determine if there are differences in estimation across sex, ethnicity, age and BMI classifications. METHODS: 129 adults were instructed to walk/jog at a "light," "moderate" and "vigorous effort" in a randomized order. The PA intensities were categorized as being below, at or above the following %HRmax ranges of: 50-63% for light, 64-76% for moderate and 77-93% for vigorous effort. RESULTS: On average, people correctly estimated light effort as 51.5±8.3%HRmax but underestimated moderate effort as 58.7±10.7%HRmax and vigorous effort as 69.9±11.9%HRmax. Participants walked at a light intensity (57.4±10.5%HRmax) when asked to walk at a pace that provided health benefits, wherein 52% of participants walked at a light effort pace, 19% walked at a moderate effort and 5% walked at a vigorous effort pace. These results did not differ by sex, ethnicity or BMI class. However, younger adults underestimated moderate and vigorous intensity more so than middle-aged adults (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: When the common PA guideline descriptors were aligned with the associated %HRmax ranges, the majority of participants underestimated the intensity of PA that is needed to obtain health benefits. Thus, new subjective descriptions for moderate and vigorous intensity may be warranted to aid individuals in correctly interpreting PA intensities.

Results from Canada's 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.

BACKGROUND: The Active Healthy Kids Canada (AHKC) Report Card consolidates and translates research and assesses how Canada is being responsible in providing physical activity opportunities for children (3- to 11-years-old) and youth (12- to 17-years-old). The primary aim of this article is to summarize the results of the 2014 AHKC 10th Anniversary Report Card. METHODS: Ten physical activity indicators were graded using the AHKC Report Card development process, which includes a synthesis of the best available research, surveillance, policy and practice findings, and expert consensus. RESULTS: Grades assigned were for: 'Behaviors that Contribute to Overall Physical Activity Levels' (Overall Physical Activity Levels, D-; Organized Sport Participation, C+; Active Play, INCOMPLETE; Active Transportation, D; Sedentary Behaviors, F), 'Settings and Sources of Influence' (Family and Peers, C; School, C+; and Community and the Built Environment, B+), and 'Strategies and Investments' (Government Strategies and Investments, C; and Non-Government Strategies and Investments, A-). CONCLUSIONS: Despite good availability of policies, programs, and infrastructure, the overall physical activity levels of Canadian children and youth remain low while sedentary behavior levels remain high. As with many nations, there is room for improvement in most physical activity behaviors and some sources of influence.

Are we driving our kids to unhealthy habits? Results of the active healthy kids Canada 2013 report card on physical activity for children and youth.

This article examines the time trends in patterns of school travel mode among Canadian children and youth to inform the Active Transportation (AT) indicator of the 2013 Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. The AT grade was assigned based on a comprehensive synthesis of the 2000 and 2010 Physical Activity Monitor studies from the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute and the 1992, 1998, 2005, and 2010 General Social Survey from Statistics Canada. The results showed that in 2013, AT was graded a D, because less than half of Canadian children and youth used only active modes of transportation to get to and from school. The proportion of Canadian children and youth who used only inactive modes of transportation for school travel increased significantly from 51% to 62% over the last decade. Children and youth from larger communities and those with lower household income levels were significantly more likely to use AT than those living in smaller communities and those in higher income households, respectively. In conclusion, motorized transport for school travel has increased steadily over the last decade across Canada. Regional and socio-demographic disparities should be considered in efforts to increase the number of children using AT.