Perspectives from United Kingdom and United States Policy Makers on Obesity Prevention Workshop Summary (2010) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5 Physical Activity and the Built Environment
5 Physical Activity and the Built Environment
Pages 31-38
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 31... ...
, and Peter Ashcroft (Regional Physical Activity Lead, UK Department of Health Southwest) shared some of the ways they are working to make the built environment healthier.
|
From page 32... ...
Tregoning spoke about how planning can help combat obesity. Among a population of about 590,000, 54 percent of adults in Washington, DC, are overweight or obese, as are 22 percent of teens, the highest percentage BOX 5-1 Impact of the Built Environment on Public Health Harriet Tregoning, Director of Washington, DC, Office of Planning, cited five impacts that illustrate how the built environment affects public health: • In low-income neighborhoods, the likelihood of a person meeting daily nu tritional guidelines increases by one-third if the neighborhood has a grocery store that sells healthy food.
|
From page 33... ...
The city also has pioneered bike- and car-sharing programs. For planners and other city officials, the question is how to make investments in and changes to the built environment to make communities "healthy by design." To this end, Washington has implemented a number of policies, such as: • facilitating safe ways to do different types of walking, from ram bling and strolling to utilitarian trips to work and errands, by installing countdown meters at intersections, creating wide side walks, and undertaking a Great Streets Initiative that uses planning to advance livability and walkable destinations; • investing in alternative modes of transport, such as by constructing bike racks and lanes; • encouraging healthy corner stores and sidewalk vending through tax incentives; developing a comprehensive plan to promote com munity gardens, mixed-use development, and other measures; and • using technology to promote health, such as through an online directory of community gardens, healthy food stores, and nutrition classes, and to enable farmers' markets to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
|
From page 34... ...
Proj ects related to the built environment include improved signage for easier walking and cycling, urban gardens, and an awards scheme to improve the food offerings in the inner-city London community near Olympic Park. • An expert working group convened by the UK Department of Health is looking at sedentary behavior and gathering evidence on the most effective ways to promote activity.
|
From page 35... ...
An upcoming conference titled "Building Health: Planning and Designing for Health and Happiness," organized in part by Ashcroft's office, will bring together professionals to share ideas and best practices, using Freiburg, Germany, as an example. The agenda will encompass greenspaces, transport, the public realm, major development, incremental change, facilities and services, and rural communities.
|
From page 36... ...
DISCUSSION In the question-and-answer session, the discussion turned to the corporate sector and health care. Jackson noted that in the United Kingdom, unlike in the United States, the National Health Service shoulders most health-related costs of obesity.
|
From page 37... ...
Tregoning noted that travel behavior is measured in the United States through the Household Transportation Survey, a very laborious process conducted only once every 12 years or so. Finding a way to measure this behavior more efficiently and comprehensively would help with planning and economic development decisions.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.