R7: Physical Activity and Reduced Sedentary Behavior

Framework Component

Indicator Description

Achievement of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans for adults and children.

Background and Context

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that children and adolescents do 60 minutes (1 hour) or more of physical activity daily. These activities should be enjoyable, age-appropriate, and offer variety. All adults should avoid inactivity. Adults who participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits. For substantial health benefits, adults should do at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous intensity aerobic activity. Ten-minute intervals throughout the week can meet the requirements. Muscle-strengthening exercises that involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week are important, too.

Healthy People 2020 objectives show that we have more work to do. More than 80 percent of adults do not meet the guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. Similarly, more than 80 percent of adolescents do not do enough aerobic physical activity to meet the guidelines for youth. Complementary strategies will include reducing time spent in sedentary behaviors, particularly entertainment screen time (television, video games, and use of computers for non-school work) and increasing the proportion of trips made by walking or bicycling.

R7 also measures active commuting, also known as active transportation, which is any form of human-powered transportation, including bicycling. Public transportation is included in active commuting because users have to use human power to access public transportation stops and their end destination (often known as the "first" and "last" mile). Safety and security issues (real and perceived) are significant barriers to active transportation, as is lack of access to adequate active transportation facilities.

Outcome The desired benefit, improvement, or achievement of a specific program or goal. Measures

Reported among SNAP-Ed eligible persons The target audience for SNAP-Ed, specifically SNAP participants and low-income individuals who qualify to receive SNAP benefits or other means-tested federal assistance programs, such as Medicaid or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Physical Activity

• R7a. At least 150 minutes per week of moderate‐intensity aerobic physical activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous‐intensity aerobic physical activity or an equivalent combination of moderate‐and vigorous‐intensity aerobic activity
• R7b. Muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms)

Sedentary Behavior

• R7c. Entertainment-based screen time viewing for 2 or fewer hours on an average school day

Active Commuting

• R7d. Use public transportation, walking, or bicycling to travel to and from work on a regular basis for destination-based active transportation, not recreation)

What to Measure

1. Number or percentage of adults who report or demonstrate achievement of minutes per week of moderate or vigorous physical activity - 150 minutes for moderate intensity; 75 minutes for vigorous intensity
2. Number or percentage of adults who participate in 2 days per week of muscle-strengthening involving all major muscle groups
3. Number or percentage of adults achieving an average or above average score on a health-related fitness test
4. Number or percentage of adults who use public transportation, walking, or bicycling to travel to and from work on a regular basis (active commuting)

1. Number or percentage of children/adolescents who report or demonstrate achievement of 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity
2. Number or percentage children/adolescents who participate in 2 days per week of muscle-strengthening involving all major muscle groups
3. Number or percentage of children who improve aerobic capacity score as measured by Fitnessgram, the national physical fitness assessment
4. Number or percentage of children/adolescents who achieve the healthy fitness zone for aerobic capacity on the Fitnessgram

1. Number or percentage of parents who report toddlers' achievement of 90 minutes per day of physical activity (30 mins structured, 60 mins unstructured)
2. Number or percentage of parents who report preschoolers' achievement of 120 minutes per day of physical activity (60 mins of structured, 60 mins of unstructured)

Population

Surveys and Data Collection Tools

ADULTS

CHILDREN & ADOLESCENTS

Key Glossary Terms

Active commuting Physical activity Any body movement that works muscles and requires more energy than resting. as a means of transport, which may include walking or bicycling. , Population-based data collection The inclusion of a total population, e.g., your entire core SNAP-Ed population, or a representative sample (at least 15%) from each funded partner/subcontractor. ,  SNAP-Ed eligible persons The target audience for SNAP-Ed, specifically SNAP participants and low-income individuals who qualify to receive SNAP benefits or other means-tested federal assistance programs, such as Medicaid or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. ,  Surveillance Monitoring of behavior, activities, or other changing information using an ongoing,systematic data collection, analysis, and dissemination tool.

Additional Resources or Supporting Citations

While not every state, territory, or tribe administers the BRFSS, this survey represents the most definitive source on health at the state level. States or communities that do not administer the BRFSS could incorporate the aforementioned survey questions in their own locally administered health surveys. Lastly, because SNAP-Ed funds cannot pay for surveillance in the general population or the population whose income exceeds 185 percent of the federal poverty level, a broader purchase of telephone numbers for sampling purposes must be cost-allocated between SNAP-Ed and other funding sources. However, SNAP-Ed funds can be used to pay for an oversample of respondents from low-income areas to ensure representativeness of the SNAP-Ed priority population.

500 Cities Project data and map books

https://www.cdc.gov/500Cities/

Data analysis of 27 chronic disease measures, including one on nutrition, physical activity, and weight status, for the 500 largest American cities and the census tracts within them.

¹ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Available from https://health.gov/paguidelines/.

² SHAPE America - Society of Health and Physical Educators. Active Start: A Statement of Physical Activity Guidelines for Children From Birth to Age 5, 2nd Edition. Reston, VA: SHAPE America; 2009.

³ Sallis JF, Buono MJ, Roby JJ, Micale FG, Nelson JA. Seven-day recall and other physical activity self-reports in children and adolescents. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1993;25(1):99-108.

⁴ Craig CL, Marshall AL, Sjostrom M, Bauman AE, Booth ML, Ainsworth BE, et al. International Physical Activity Questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003;35(8):1381-1395.

⁵ Weston AT, Petosa R, Pate RR. Validation of an instrument for measurement of physical activity in youth. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1997;29(1):138-43.

⁶ Ridley K, Olds TS, Hill A. The Multimedia Activity Recall In memory refers to the mental process of retrieval of information from the past. Along with encoding and storage, it is one of the three core processes of memory. for Children and Adolescents (MARCA): development and evaluation. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2006;26;3-10.

⁷Hardy LL, Booth ML, Okely AD. The reliability of the Adolescent Sedentary Activity Questionnaire (ASAQ). Prev Med. 2007 Jul;45(1):71-74. Epub 2007 Apr 14.