Be Active Your Way Blog - Events

Wellness for Our Military Families

TRichards — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 09:08:00 -0400

The Joining Forces initiative, launched by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden to mobilize support for our service members and their families, calls attention to a critical wellness need in our country.

"The stress of war, multiple deployments, and frequent moves can affect the wellness of military families," notes the Joining Forces website. "Children and spouses can experience anxiety, changes in relationships with family and friends, isolation or emotional challenges in dealing with deployments, illness or injury, and high mobility."

To help meet the wellness needs of our military families, the International Health, Racquet, & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) President/CEO Joe Moore joined Mrs. Obama on the South Lawn of the White House on May 9th to announce the launch of the IHRSA Joining Forces Network - an affiliation of health clubs throughout the country that will offer free memberships to immediate family members of actively deployed reservists and National Guard members. The announcement took place at a health and wellness event for military families hosted by Mrs. Obama; the event combined the Joining Forces and Let's Move initiatives.

"The freedoms that each of us enjoys every day are possible because of the sacrifices that our nation's military families bear," said Joe Moore, IHRSA's President and CEO. "Joining Forces offers us an opportunity to provide these families with the support they are due."

The IHRSA Joining Forces Network hopes to offer at least 100,000 free health club memberships throughout the country - the equivalent of more than 18 million days of free access to health clubs and an estimated value of more than $30 million.

Participating clubs also may provide additional benefits, such as childcare, children's programming, group classes, discounts for veterans, and discounts for active duty families.

"Rooted in communities all across America, IHRSA health clubs stand ready to serve our nation's military families," said Moore. "We are here to offer them safe, supportive environments where they can exercise and find encouragement in their efforts to stay well through healthy lifestyle choices. We are deeply honored to be part of the Joining Forces and Let's Move initiatives."

Beginning June 1st, eligible military families can find participating clubs in their area online at www.healthclubs.com. The website also offers a free digital subscription to Get Active! Magazine, a consumer resource dedicated to promoting the benefits of safe and effective exercise, and offers useful advice on making healthy lifestyle choices.

We know, of course, that a free membership can't fully mitigate the stress of family life during a time of deployment, but we are confident that every offer of support matters. What are some other ways that physical activity organizations can support the troops? We'd love to hear what other organizations are doing.

Activities in May: Celebrating National Physical Fitness and Sports Month

JWargo — Thu, 19 May 2011 11:46:00 -0400

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, a designation bestowed since 1983 and celebrated by the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN). Organizations including schools, public health agencies, and worksites celebrate the month to promote awareness of the value of physical activity in pursuit of happier, healthier, more productive lives. Celebrations and recognition weeks and days throughout May target specific activities or populations, such as:

May 1-7—National Physical Education and Sport Week

May 9-13—National Women's Health Week

May 18—National Employee Health and Fitness Day

May 16-20—National Bike to Work Week

May 20—Bike to Work Day

The PCFSN kicked off its celebration of the month on Monday, May 9th, at the White House. PCFSN members joined the First Lady on the South Lawn to announce a partnership between the Council, Let’s Move!, Joining Forces, the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) and the American Council on Exercise (ACE) that will provide free fitness club memberships and personal training sessions to immediate family members of actively deployed reservists and National Guard members.

Following the announcement, Council members led a South Lawn Series event for families of National Guard members and reservists who were in attendance for the announcement. The First Lady kicked off the fun, participating with the members and day’s honorees in a series of stations that included an obstacle course, dance and ball toss stations among others.

On Tuesday, May 10th, Council members gathered again for an open meeting. Approximately 120 people came to hear about the Council members’ activities. The afternoon featured presentations from individuals making a difference in physical education and school-based physical activity opportunities in their communities.

After the meeting adjourned, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the board members of the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. The Foundation was Congressionally‐chartered in December to help cultivate private sector partnerships and funding for key programs and initiatives of PCFSN.

Such activities may include special initiatives, such as the Million PALA Challenge. Launched last September, promotion and participation in the Million PALA Challenge is picking up steam as President’s Challenge advocates continue to roll out the initiative to their constituents and members.

The month of May presents the perfect opportunity for kids and adults across the country to make their commitment to be regularly active. Sign up at www.millionpalachallenge.org to take on the President’s Challenge and learn to be active your way.

What are you doing this month to help get America moving?

Dedicating Awareness Months to Helping Families Avoid Obesity by Physical Activity

LCulver — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 14:16:00 -0400

Montefiore Medical Center Physical Therapy Department promoted physical activity by sponsoring a two-mile run/walk to benefit B'N Fit, a Montefiore program that teaches teens how to adopt healthy, physically active lifestyles.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 68% of adults over the age of 20 are either overweight or obese.

With Americans' health challenges in mind, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) dedicated October’s annual National Physical Therapy Month (NPTM) to letting people know that children and adults ― both able-bodied and differently-abled ― can help prevent obesity and its consequences by following the HHS Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. We chose to place our emphasis on obesity prevention

According to a 2009 PEW Research Center study, 61 percent of American adults look online for medical help. Knowing this we decided to engage our audience by hosting a Tweet Chat. We partnered with AOL’s “That’s Fit,” a popular, interactive, online fitness, health and wellness resource to host the chat and addressed issues related to the role of physical activity in staying fit, starting an exercise regimen, and exercise considerations for people who are obese and/or have type 2 diabetes. We found that this was a great addition to our PR efforts, as our post-chat report indicated that we reached an estimated audience of 81,000. We plan to incorporate social media into our NPTM efforts for the foreseeable future and we plan to encourage our members to make social media part of their own efforts.

We developed a variety of materials for members, the media, and the public. For APTA members, the NPTM Web page featured new additions to our “staple” resources such as sample Facebook and Twitter posts and a downloadable board game. For the public and the media, we included some of the above, with links to HHS physical activity guidelines, including guidelines for adults with disabilities and health conditions such as type 2 diabetes. We also posted a “physical activity” page on our consumer Web site that included information from our press release and links to our Find-a-PT database and a YouTube video about physical activities for kids of all abilities.

It was satisfying to see the creative ways in which members got the word out in their communities. These included free community lectures, booths at local health fairs, a run/walk to benefit a program that teaches teens how to adopt healthy, physically active lifestyles, and a professor and her students visiting all three national morning shows. We always ask for members to send us their photos and descriptions of their events so we can showcase them on our NPTM page. We also provide links to the previous years’ descriptions and photos so members can get ideas for the current year.

Program Spotlight

SLier — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:16:00 -0400

This week we would like to spotlight the West Virginia Physical Activity Symposium: A First Step in the Development of a WV Physical Activity Plan.

Program Basics

The West Virginia Physical Activity Symposium was organized to draw the attention of statewide media, state government officials, and sector and regional representation from organizational leaders and other individuals throughout the state, to focus on the West Virginia Physical Activity Plan (WV PAP) and was held in June 1010. As part of the Symposium, working groups were formed to look at the National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP) strategies, and within each sector, select and refine strategies that are appropriate for WV. Groups were asked to begin to formulate action steps that could be incorporated into an effective plan to meet the needs of the state. Results of these meetings were used to begin writing a statewide PAP appropriate to meet the context of WV, with final release of the statewide Plan slated for May 2011. As with the NPAP, the WV PAP is based on the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, using the Guidelines as a foundation for plan development, policy recommendations, and advocacy.

Measuring Success

Success was evaluated by looking at process indicators. The PA Symposium included 250 attendees, 7 nationally recognized speakers who shared a global perspective on physical activity and the sector-specific connection, 43 WV programs and research projects presenting posters, 18 WV professionals making oral presentations, and 3 nationally recognized celebrities (Shannon Miller, Olympic Gymnast; Jared Fogle, Subway Spokesman; Phil Psister, World’s Stongest Man) who promoted the message for increased physical activity. In addition, Governor Joe Manchin and the First Lady Gayle Manchin participated throughout, including hosting a reception for guests and the All-Conference Picnic at the Governor’s Mansion. Process indicators for success were accomplished, and in most cases, exceeded.

Challenges

While Eloise Elliott, the chair of the WV PA Plan, did not mention facing any challenges, coordinating a statewide symposium is no simple feat. It can be difficult to reach all of the target populations or create enthusiasm for the event.

Implementing a Similar Program in Your Community

Elliott gave the following suggestions to consider when trying to develop a PAP plan or hold a symposium:

· Development begins with at least one key stakeholder who can provide statewide leadership and a team of dedicated individuals who can serve on a working coordinating committee.

· Key players include state policymakers and government agencies, state and local organizational partners that can provide input and leadership, and many interested individuals and groups who can foster implementation of the strategies and give grassroots input.

· Representation from all societal sectors and from all regions of the state is imperative. The call for action is for EVERYONE who can impact PA participation and/or opportunities to get involved, provide input, take ownership, and make it happen!

· A statewide initiative, such as a PA Symposium as an initial “first step” helps to facilitate interest and support, educates the state about the NPAP, and gives sectors and regional representatives throughout the state a venue to share best practices, and provide initial input into state needs, barriers and successes.

How has your community worked toward implementing the National Physical Activity Plan? Share your challenges and successes by commenting, below!

Children are on the Move in DeCA

kHawkins — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:42:00 -0400

Childhood obesity in America has reached epidemic proportions, with the number of overweight children doubling over the past two decades. The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) is championing the fight against childhood obesity with supporting the “Let’s Move!” campaign through promoting physical activity for children and healthy food choices. We have taken the quest to market and educate DeCA’s military audience to commissaries, publications and even to social networking sites, holding healthy food and physical activity demonstrations, writing about the positive effects making healthy choices can bring, and “tweeting” with commissary patrons about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Two of DeCA’s most recent health and wellness events took place at military installations in Virginia. 5-year-olds from the installation child development center learned how to make fresh fruit shish kabobs and vegetable cornucopias using whole-grain tortillas, while commissary employees teamed up with the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center to treat the children to a morning of fun-filled exercises. These events encourage children at an early age so they know how to make healthy choices throughout their lives. By working with the children, the community and the families to learn to make healthy choices, they’re more likely to continue these good habits as they get older. Eating healthy and exercising are both important aspects in winning the battle against childhood obesity and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

The fight against childhood obesity involves the community supporting the families and providing educations as well as interventions that help support the things they do at home. At the same time, we are able to teach adults to be healthier through these interactive events.

What are some things you are doing to help encourage children to be active in your community?

Program Spotlight

SLier — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:26:00 -0400

This week we would like to spotlight Family Fitness Days (FFD), a successful, community-based physical activity program in Southern California.

The Program Basics

Network for a Healthy California – San Diego & Imperial Region works with low-income Californians, increasing their physical activity and teaching them the importance of living a healthy life. Their FFD are monthly events that take place at the City Heights Farmers’ Market. The program highlights physical activity opportunities and classes taking place in the community that are either free or low cost. According to Larissa Johnson, Physical Activity and Community Youth Organization Coordinator, "The goal is to get people to realize that all they need to do is pick an activity that’s easy to fit into their lives and then do it."

FFD are multifaceted, providing interactive physical active events and a booth with physical activity information such as the Be Active Your Way fact sheets. Different physical activities are highlighted every month, alternating between aerobic activities and strengthening activities. Videos of past activities on posted on the ICanSanDiego YouTube page at: http://www.youtube.com/user/ICANSANDIEGO#g/a

Measuring Success

The success of the program is measured by how many people are reached. Network for a Healthy California has established partnerships with local recreation centers and agencies that provide physical activity demonstrations to see if enrollment increases as a result of the FFD.

Challenges

Ms. Johnson feels fortunate that the challenges have been minimal. Both the community and the Farmers’ Market have been receptive to incorporating the physical activity program. However, one of the challenges faced by FFD is lack of personnel to staff the events. Though the events only occur once a month, it is difficult to secure volunteers for the four hour time commitment. To overcome the challenge, FFD connected with professor Ellen Turkel from San Diego City College, a local community college, where students from her health class receive school credit for service learning. They have found the student volunteers to be a great addition to the project, because they want to play a positive role in the community.

Implementing a Similar Program in Your Community

Ms Johnson feels it would be quite easy to create programs similar to FFD in any community. She suggests that others should:

Connect with local resources. For a Farmers’ Market, there are always organizations, businesses, etc surrounding the market. Utilize them as a resource!
Take a look at events that are going on in your community and try to see ways that physical activity can be integrated into that event. For example, if your community has an annual pumpkin festival, that festival is a great opportunity to include physical activity. Think about using the pumpkins as makeshift cones for a relay course or a soccer dribbling challenge.

Do you have suggestions that FFD could use to build their program’s success?

How might this program be adapted for success in your community?

DeCA is On the Move during the DoD-wide Fitness Challenge

kHawkins — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:04:00 -0400

While walking through DeCA headquarters, one may notice a lot of activity in the building. You might see a group of women in summer dresses and workout shoes walking, a man with a gym bag and wet hair coming out of the locker room, and several people walking up the stairs instead of using the elevator. And, when shopping at the local commissary, you are likely to hear about several employees walking on their lunch break, going bowling after work or taking an exercise class together.

We are on the move at DeCA – one step at a time – as being active and making healthy choices are not only good for us but are also fun. Last year DeCA employees participated in the President’s Challenge with more than 4,800 completing the challenge. This year the Department of Defense is sponsoring a DoD-wide “Leap into Fall” Fitness Challenge that runs from August through October for all DoD civilians, contractors and their families. Team DeCA is participating in the challenge.

There is an overall DoD goal of 1,500,000 hours of physical activity during that 10-week period. To help make it even more interesting, DoD components will compete against each other for a fitness award. Participating individuals that have achieved at least 25 hours of physical activity over a 10-week period or groups whose members on average have 25 hours of physical activity during those 10 weeks will receive a Certificate of Achievement at the end of the DoD Fall Fitness Challenge. The results of the top three most active groups and individuals that contribute toward achieving the overall DoD goal will be announced on the DoD Worklife/Wellness website.

We encourage you to join the challenge at www.presidentschallenge.org. Ask your family, friends and co-workers to join, too. Qualifying fitness activities include just about any type of movement – including walking, running, golfing, gardening and even doing household tasks. Join the challenge with us and enjoy moving along to better health today in the commissary.

Secrets to success include:

It really helps to get buy-in from the top down.
Create a competition between sections in your organization. Most people enjoy being part of a team and competing to achieve a goal.
Throughout the challenge and at the end, share examples of events and activities that both teams and individuals can do to make it enjoyable and real for people.
Share the success of accomplishment through incentives and media promotion.

How are you creatively promoting physical activity in your organization?

News & Reports 8/2/10

SLier — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:01:00 -0400

This week, we would like to spread the word about a couple of events that may be of interest to our readers:

CDC Webinar: Measurement of Active and Sedentary Behaviors
“Closing the Gaps in Self-Report Methods”
Slides are now available from this webinar.

This six-part webinar will provide:
- An overview of physical activity as a multidimensional health behavior
- An in-depth review of methods to measure active and sedentary behaviors by self-report
- An exploration of important issues when assessing physical activity in diverse populations

National Physical Activity Plan

“Reducing Liability Concerns and Getting Kids Active through Safe Routes to School (SRTS)”

August 11, 2010 1pm EST

Registration is free.

In this webinar, participants will learn:

-The basics of liability in the context of SRTS

-How school districts, nonprofit organizations, and others can reduce their liability in SRTS programs

-How SRTS programs can leave schools with a lower risk of liability than existed prior to the program

-Best practices for implementing SRTS programs and policies

-About new resources from NPAP

Do you know of any other learning opportunities coming up?

News & Reports 7/19/10

SLier — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:42:00 -0400

This week, we would like to spread the word about a couple of events that may be of interest to our readers:

CDC Webinar: Measurement of Active and Sedentary Behaviors
“Closing the Gaps in Self-Report Methods”
July 21, 2010, 12:30-5:15pm EDT
Registration is free.

ALR Conference- Call For Abstracts and Award Nominations
Due August 6, 2010, 11:59pm PDT

Active Living Research (ALR), a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has announced a call for presentation and paper abstracts, and a call for award nominations for its Annual Conference on February 22-24, 2011, in San Diego, CA.

The theme of the 2011 conference is “Partnerships for Progress in Active Living: From Research to Action.”

Goofy for Exercise

LCulver — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 09:58:00 -0400

The home and community environment can set the tone for a healthy lifestyle for children and adolescents. This is particularly true in the area of physical activity. Parents and caregivers can be role models in their levels of activity and also support community activities that encourage regular physical activity and make it fun.

To foster that notion, the Section on Pediatrics (SOP) of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) recently hosted their first annual conference in Orlando, Florida. The conference provided 3 days of educational programming and networking focused on a lifespan approach from neonatal and infancy through the young adult, including fitness and sports participation within the community.

An exciting element of the conference was the coordinated participation in the Walk Disney World Marathon Weekend Events.

The SOP instituted a fitness challenge, “GOOFY FOR EXERCISE” which encouraged children and adults of all age groups and abilities to be “Goofy for Exercise!” The challenge went out to all SOP members and the community to train for a 5K, half marathon, or full marathon. Team Members (many who were first timers) met in Orlando the weekend of January 8 – 10, 2010 to participate in the event.

More than 50,000 runners (including their family and friends) passed through the SOP booth at the health fair to retrieve their race packets. As an exhibitor, the SOP provided fitness literature that included APTA’s Fit Teens and Fit Kids magazines and “Fit for Life” stuffed toy bears.

This event supported three key messages:

Being active can be a family affair and fun for adults and children alike,
Pediatric physical therapists can support children and their families by being good role models and ensuring opportunities for children and families to participate, and
Physical activity is important regardless of a persons’ abilities

Presently the SOP envisions “Goofy for Exercise” as an on-going campaign/training event, involving more families and coordinating with other small pediatric charity groups. We plan to identify several diverse fitness events and health fairs throughout the year to “encourage exercise for all.”

The SOP and the APTA also have a number of current and future resources for children and families that encompass all ability levels. These resources can be found at: http://www.pediatricapta.org/consumer-patient-information/index.cfm.

Potential Future “Goofy for Exercise Events” inlcude:

September 3-5, 2010 Disneyland –Family Fun Run & Half Marathon Team; SOP Booth at Health Fair
January 6-9, 2011 Walt Disney World - Family Fun Run & Events, Half & Full Marathon Team; SOP Booth at Health Fair
September 2-4, 2011 Disneyland - Family Fun Run & Half Marathon Team; SOP Booth at Health Fair
Web Link to training schedule
Simultaneous races/events throughout country

We are on the way to more fun stuff!

“It’s Kind of Fun to Do the Impossible” Walt Disney

Do you plan on joining the SOP “Goofy for Exercise” Challenge at one of our planed events?

What event will you plan in your community to be “Goofy for Exercise?”