2012 Physical Activity Forum on Sedentary Behaviour

REGISTER NOW for the 2012 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FORUM!

New Ways of Thinking to Get People Moving: Using positive health to rethink workplaces and play

May 1st- Edmonton
May 3rd- Calgary

This year, our forum offers a dynamic and timely presentation by Dr. Grant Schofield, who will outline some fresh, exciting ways to see the world and get it moving again! The main focus will be looking at new ways to get adults moving in their workplaces and children moving in our neighbourhoods.

Drawing upon his knowledge of positive psychology and positive health, Dr. Schofield will outline different ideas and approaches that can help people flourish. Dr. Schofield is Professor of Public Health at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) in Auckland, New Zealand. He founded and directs the Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition at AUT.

Be sure to share this link (2012 Physical Activity Forum) with your peers, contacts and networks! If you have an e-newsletter, events calendar, or other communications vehicles (e.g., social media), please add the Forum event to your postings.

Thank you, and see you at the Forum!

Upcoming Physical Activity Campaigns/Events

Spring is approaching (despite the massive influx of snow we seem to have received recently). With spring almost here there is a sense of excitement, hope and a need for change (who can blame us after a long dreary winter). Spring can be a great time to promote physical activity and getting people thinking about active transportation, commuting and being a bit more active outside.

A good way to do this is with events or campaigns. Joining in with a larger event or campaign can be helpful and can save time versus coming up with a new event. Often times the promotion material is made available and, there are websites to send people for information.

Here are some national and provincial events/campaign I would like to share that are coming up.

World Physical Activity Day April 6th.

The theme for the 2012 World Physical Activity Day is “Together for an Active and Happy Life.” Check out the website.

Sneak It in Week. April 9th-13th.

ParticipACTION is encouraging Canadians to sneak a little more physical activity into their workdays. For more information, materials or to get involved, please contact Sarah Stanley at sstanley@participACTION.com.

June is Bike Month.

A great time to promote cycling in your city, town, community or within your organization.

June is (also) Recreation Month.

This can be a creative way to help promote recreation opportunities in your community and in the province! Check out ARPA to learn more.

Wheel Week June 2-9th.

SHAPE (Safe Healthy Active People Everywhere) will be running Wheel Week. The campaign will encourage wheeling (bike, skateboard, roller blades etc.) on any day or every day. Check the SHAPE website for information.

Commuters Challenge June 3-9th.

This campaign encourages Canadians to leave their cars at home and rewards walking, cycling, carpooling/ride-sharing, taking transit and telecommuting. The goal is to celebrate active and sustainable transportation. Check out their website for information.

Of course there are other great events out there. I would like to hear what you have done in the past. Feel free to share in the comments section.

Motivation and Choice

My apologies for being away. I have been off enjoying the finer things in life- but not to worry I am back!

Today I would like to share with you a new program idea.

I met with a friend and colleague last week. We both had the same supervisor at school and both survived doing research in exercise physiology. Fun times!

My friend now works in a primary care network (PCN), working directly with patients who are referred to him by physicians.

As with all of our visits, the first hour is shop talk. He shared with me some new exciting things the PCN is doing, especially with the programs they are planning to offer. The program they want to implement, is to offer their patients a choice. Yes a choice! Let me explain.

They are planning for this program to be targeting patients who have weight management issues and/or type 2 diabetes. The patients who enter this program will go through introductory sessions on chronic disease management, with a focus on tools to help them with behaviour change (goal-setting, self-monitoring, etc). Once the patient completes these sessions they are given the option to have further assistance in either nutrition or physical activity. Of course, the patients can also get assistance in the other area they may not have initially chosen.

I think this is a great idea, which could be quite successful.

Motivation is a key aspect of changing behaviour. Providing patients a sense of autonomy (ie, a choice, sense that they have control) can be very helpful to maintain motivation.

I am very eager to hear about their program as it develops. I will also be curious to learn if the adherence to this program is better and of course the long term outcomes of their patients.

So, what do you think? Is offering choice useful? Have you seen programs do something similar? How can we give them a sense of autonomy and a sense of control to the people we work with?