Heading out to engage in physical activity often is easier for people when they can join with others in groups, and support and motivate each other. By engaging communities in physical activity, you can help people share knowledge about the benefits of physical activitiy, develop awareness about opportunities to be physically active, and overcome barriers and negative attitudes that may exist about exercise.

The U.S. Preventive Service Task Force recommends several initiatives that communities can adopt to successfully encourage and increase amounts of physical activity, in order to help manage and mitigate chronic health diseases, high blood pressure, and cholesterol. Community access to opportunities for physical activity is extremely important. Building walking trails, pools, fields, and gyms help provide citizens with more opportunities to exercise. Reducing fees for facilities access and providing low or no-cost programming and coaching also helps eliminate barriers to exercise. Simply placing motivational signs by elevators and escalators can remind residents and office workers to use nearby stairs in order to improve health and promote weight management. Community-wide media campaigns through television, radio, and newspapers promote screenings and educational workshops at worksites, schools and other community locations. Social support interventions in the community - including buddy systems, group walks, and fitness classes - also help steer physical behavior in a positive direction while strengthening community bonds and friendships.

There are many cities throughout the country that are making enormous efforts to foster physical activity development and awareness in their communities. Residents are given tools to help attain active lifestyle goals through access to fitness equipment, trails, and online support groups. Here are three examples of communities engaging their citizens in fitness programs.

City of Trenton, MI: Trenton's Health and Wellness Coalition

Goal: Encourage group walks in neighborhoods

Walk your way to a healthy life! This is the theme for Walk Michigan, a free program for all ages that meets three times a week to walk along a scenic bike path. The group walk helps encourage residents to walk regularly by joining neighbors in strengthening community bonds. Walk Michigan is a year-long initiative that transitions the outdoors walks to indoors during the winter season. The coalition also offers a variety of reduced-price fitness classes at various centers, gyms, and schools.

Fall River, MA: Fall River Fitness Challenge

Goal: Encourage friendly competition and educate residents to increase physical activity

Open to residents of Fall River, this ongoing challenge allows participants to gain access to fitness programs and centers throughout the city for little or no cost. These programs and educational promotions h

elp them learn to eat well, exercise, lose weight, become fit, and prevent diabetes, obesity, and other chronic diseases. Not only do residents get to exercise in a fun, stress-free environment, but they are provided with tools to do this regularly, and have the chance to win prizes for their hard efforts.

San Antonio, TX: Mayor's Fitness Council

Goal: Deliver an online community platform that gives residents tools to help incorporate physical activity

In addition to county-wide fitness programs, Arlington created an open portal to promote local programs and maximize utilization of opportunities to engage in physical activity. The FitArlington portal maintains a comprehensive calendar of county events and provides incentives for exercising and for creating physical activity programming. The easy accessibility relies on the portal's online platform, which serves as an excellent resource tool, providing tips on exercise, places for everything fitness related, and fun events promoting physical aware

ness. The portal supports four main initiatives: Get Fit, Get Outdoors, Places to Stay, and Play a Sport. A list of physical activities, groups, and local events throughout Arlington County can be found through the portal, which also facilitates development of new programming by connecting coaches and program managers with county facilities and staff. 

Thanks to the help of local community efforts, residents in many places find it easier than ever to become physically active. Great community leaders in many locations have successfully transformed their communities into physical activity-friendly environments. Help your community get excited about physical activity by becoming an active and fit resident, and spreading the important message about how physical activity plays a critical role in bettering health!

What are some physical activity programs available to groups in your community?

It's a wonderful time to be in the business of promoting physical activity. There aren't many issues in the public policy arena that enjoy such a broad consensus of support across political, social, and cultural lines. Everyone agrees that physical activity is good, regular physical activity is better, and a physically active lifestyle is best!

But it is a challenging time in Washington, DC and across the nation - with dwindling public health dollars, austere budgeting, "nanny state" push-back, and the need to accomplish more with fewer resources. That is why it is more important than ever that people, organizations, government agencies, industries, and others who are interested in promoting health and wellness must come together. We need to present consistent, unified messaging, coordinate our resources, and collaborate across various sectors to create healthier environments and policies that allow people to make healthy choices.

In our efforts to implement the National Physical Activity Plan, the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity has built a network of individuals working across eight different sectors - including education, public health, business/industry, health care, parks and recreation, and transportation - to implement the strategies and tactics laid out in this important road map. These strategies drive specific policies and programs aimed at getting people up on their feet and moving.

Business & Industry Sector

In the business and industry sector, we are working to identify, collect, and make available the best practices, models, and existing programs for physical activity in the workplace. The sector team has developed a CEO Pledge, urging corporate leaders to commit themselves and their companies to provide opportunities and access for their employees to be active before, during, and after the work day. These businesses will gain access to a valuable resource list to help shift their corporate cultures from sedentary to physically active work environments.

Education Sector

One of the education sector's strategies is to promote policies to provide access and opportunities for physical activity in after-school programming. The sector team conducted a survey to compile information on standards and guidelines for afterschool activity. They gathered data from 500 programs in 10 regions, and also looked at school districts with diverse demographic profiles. In fact, this year marked the first development and adoption of National Standards on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Afterschool Programs.

Health Sector

The health sector is working to make physical activity a "vital sign" that all health care providers assess and discuss with patients. The team is working to establish physical inactivity as a treatable and preventable condition with profound health implications. They are also developing policies to include physical activity in the education and training of all health care professionals.

The Federal government by nature of its broad reach can lead the cultural shift. The same folks who put Rosie the Riveter to work in the factories now need to help Rosie get off the couch and make the move to a physically active lifestyle. Physical activity needs to be inserted into the health policies of the entire government.

To reach the ultimate goal of creating a society of physically active children and adults, we all need to use a common voice when bringing our ideas and energy to the effort. There's something for everyone in the National Physical Activity Plan. What are you doing to help put the plan into action?

Program: A planned series of future events, items, or performances.
Policy: A proposed or adopted course or principle of action.

One way to get Americans engaged in physical activity is through the use of programming.  This might mean regular “classes”, special events, etc.  Programs are conducted by government bodies such as recreation and park departments or public schools, by not for profit organizations like the Y, the JCC and also by local community groups.

Programs provide ready made activities that have structure, resources, personnel, etc. but what happens when the class is over or the event ends?  Do those same people still engage in the amount of daily physical activity as recommended in the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans?  If not, why not?  Likely, it is not nearly as convenient and in the case of a special event, perhaps it is just not logistically possible.

Let’s look at an example… National Walk to School Day.  Perhaps your community has created activities surrounding this day…maybe they have gathered volunteers to work as crossing guards so that it is safe for children to cross streets or perhaps they have allowed streets to only be one way to enable safe walking and biking.  Many parents participate with their children or talk to their kids who walked/biked about how they enjoyed it…discussion spreads through the “parent network”… “Wouldn’t it be great if the kids could safely walk/bike to school on a regular basis-not just once a year?”  They begin to look at what would be needed to make that happen…perhaps its traffic signals-maybe its crossing guards-perhaps its considering walking/biking when making decisions of where to put schools and when developing neighborhoods. 

Here’s another one…the local swimming pools are very popular with families and kids.  Their activity however, leaves no space for those that want to swim laps.  The manager at one pool notices this and institutes time each hour that allows for lap swimming.  Word spreads through the community and interested parties start asking other managers to do the same on a trial basis…soon a group of dedicated lap swimmers organizes and approaches policy makers asking for a community wide policy to be developed designating lap swimming time.

This is how policy often starts-particularly on the local level.  A group of individuals rally around a problem of common interest and work to educate and influence policy makers about solutions.

The above examples demonstrate how programming can lead to policy.  The National Physical Activity Plan is full of ideas on policies that would make it easier for Americans to engage in physical activity where they work, live, worship, shop and- go to school.  Local groups interested in instituting some of these polices in their own communities might want to consider hosting events or regular activities that can help educate and shape residents to work towards policies that would make it easier to engage in physical activity on a daily basis.  

What ideas do you have for programs that could lead to policies?