Charlene R. Burgeson
Executive Director
National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), an association of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD)
Which of the 8 Sectors
are you involved in and why did you choose that particular
sector?
My organization is most involved in the Education Sector. However, we also have great interest in the Parks, Recreation, Fitness, and Sports Sector as it pertains directly to our mission as well.
What's most
exciting to you about the U.S. having a National Physical
Activity Plan?
I see the most important benefit of having a national plan as defining common goals through a national consensus process. As a result of having common goals, we will be able to: coordinate, utilize and support across-sector programs/strategies, communicate with the public, secure more funding, and measure our collective progress.
What will success
of the NPAP look like to you in 3 years, 5 years? 10 years?
In short, success will look like more Americans being moderately to vigorously physical active on a regular basis. Ideally that will mean that more children, adolescents, and adults meet the national guidelines…maybe that’s our 10 year goal. However, I believe that success means moving people along the continuum. If we have less people being inactive, and more people being active at all, then we should celebrate success. To make this occur, we need to make physical activity a part of our citizens’ mind-sets and vernacular. Imagine if individuals thought about physical activity like they think about tooth-brushing – that they wouldn’t even consider not engaging in the behavior each day. Imagine if individuals thought and talked about physical activity as much as they think and talk about weight control (“dieting”), it would definitely raise the national consciousness about the role and value of physical activity. Imagine if parents were doing laps around the track (instead of sitting and waiting) when they take their kids to their lessons/clubs/sports. Imagine if physicians were talking to patients about engaging in a physically active lifestyle, recommending specific strategies, and following-up with their patients – and got properly reimbursed from health insurance companies for doing this. In my mind’s eye, these types of thinking and behavior would be counted in our success column.