Pacific Southwest

Title: An Active Living Perspective on Recreation Research: Examples of Urban Trail Use and Suggestions for Further Involvement

Author: Gobster, Paul H.

Date: 2004

Source: An Active Living Perspective on Recreation Research: Examples of Urban Trail Use and Suggestions for Further Involvement. In: Proceedings of the Fourth Social Aspects and Recreation Research Symposium; 2004 February 4-6; San Francisco, California. San Francisco State University. 22-28

Description: By now the statistics are all too familiar: rates of obesity and incidents of related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and depression have reached epidemic proportions among US adults and children. These conditions have been linked along with other factors such as nutrition to our increasingly sedentary lifestyles brought on by changes in technology in our homes and workplaces, urban sprawl, and the perceived and actual safety of our communities (Jackson & Kochtitzky, 2002). The consequences of physical inactivity have been estimated to be responsible for more than 200,000 deaths annually (McGinnis & Foege, 1993) and to result in treatment costs of at least $37 billion per year (Colditz, 1999). These devastating facts have spurred government groups such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and private concerns such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to mount major research initiatives and interventions to understand how more Americans can better integrate physical activity into their everyday life, a concept that is coming to be known as “active living” (Active Living Research, 2003).

Keywords: activing living, diatbetes, heart disease, depression

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Citation

Gobster, Paul H.  2004.  An Active Living Perspective on Recreation Research: Examples of Urban Trail Use and Suggestions for Further Involvement.   An Active Living Perspective on Recreation Research: Examples of Urban Trail Use and Suggestions for Further Involvement. In: Proceedings of the Fourth Social Aspects and Recreation Research Symposium; 2004 February 4-6; San Francisco, California. San Francisco State University. 22-28.