In recent years, the time available for leisure-time activity has increased, but this increase has come in small chunks and been spent in sedentary activities. Similarly, the time spent on leisure activities has risen but has been focused on activities that encourage sedentary behaviors.
Providing access, education, and resources that help people incorporate fun and meaningful physical activity into their daily lives can foster real change in the national level of physical activity. The parks, recreation, fitness, and sports sector has considerable capacity to encourage more people to be more active by pursuing the following strategies:
STRATEGY 1
Promote programs and facilities where people work, learn, live,
play and worship (i.e., workplace, public, private, and
non-profit recreational sites) to provide easy access to safe
and affordable physical activity opportunities. VIEW TACTICS
STRATEGY 2
Enhance the existing parks, recreation, fitness, and sports
infrastructure to build capacity to disseminate policy and
environmental interventions that promote physical activity. VIEW
TACTICS
STRATEGY 3
Use existing professional, amateur (Amateur Athletics Union,
Olympics), and college (National Collegiate Athletics
Association) athletics and sports infrastructures and programs
to enhance physical activity opportunities in communities. VIEW TACTICS
STRATEGY 4
Increase funding and resources for parks, recreation, fitness,
and sports programs and facilities in areas of high need. VIEW TACTICS
STRATEGY 5
Improve physical activity monitoring and surveillance capacity
to gauge program effectiveness in parks, recreation, fitness,
and sports settings based on geographic population
representation and physical activity levels, not merely numbers
served. VIEW TACTICS
STRATEGY
6
Increase social marketing efforts to maximize use of recreations
programs and facilities and promote co-benefits with
environmental and other related approaches. VIEW TACTICS