The Physical Activity and Health Innovation Collaborative (PA IC) is an ad hoc activity associated with the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. This ad hoc convening activity fosters information sharing and collaboration toward the Roundtable aims as well as progress on findings highlighted in prior National Academies reports. Any products and activities associated with this collaborative does not necessarily represent the views of any one organization, the Collaborative, the Roundtable, or the National Academies and has not been subjected to the review procedures of, nor are they a reports or products of, the National Academies.

Background
Physical activity is central to health, and its importance clearly extends beyond its role in achieving energy balance to prevent and treat obesity and overweight. Adequate daily physical activity improves cardiovascular health, metabolic health, brain and mental health, and musculoskeletal health—benefits that recent research shows are gained across the life span. National guidelines for recommended levels of physical activity for the general health of both adults and children are for adults to engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity each week, and for children, at least 60 minutes of a combination of aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and bone-strengthening physical activity per day. While physical activity promotion should be a health priority, Americans are not meeting the physical activity recommendations noted.

ENHANCING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY SURVEILLANCE IN THE U.S.

Physical activity is an emerging focus in public health and its role is expanding rapidly. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened awareness that physical activity is linked to a number of health outcomes, but surveillance of physical activity in the U.S. is limited. Expert panels working over the last several years have identified numerous ways in which surveillance of physical activity in the U.S. should be expanded and enhanced. The 2019 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s consensus report, Implementing Strategies to Enhance Public Health Surveillance of Physical Activity in the United States, recommended specific actions for the enhancement of physical activity surveillance in four content areas: children; health care; workplaces; and community supports for physical activity.

This project, conducted in conjunction with the National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP), and the Physical Activity Alliance, has created products that contribute to filling some of those gaps in the four content areas. The work is summarized in the summary report linked below.

• Summary Report: Advancing Key Actions to Enhance Physical Activity Surveillance in the United States

STUDENTS' PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS

The research project described, and the publications below, were inspired by the Physical Activity and Health Innovation Collaborative, an ad hoc activity associated with the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The publications do not necessarily represent the views of any one organization, the Roundtable, or the National Academies and have not been subjected to the review procedures of, nor are they reports or products of, the National Academies.

See the link below for a scientific paper on new research that focuses on school districts across the country that have demonstrated exemplary efforts to provide students with numerous opportunities for physical activity. The study aimed to understand the factors that facilitated the programmatic success of these schools. Through interviews, researchers were able to better understand the activities in place (including programs, policies, engagement and funding) and the factors that facilitated the success at these distinct school districts. Three overarching and broadly relevant themes were identified that will provide actionable evidence that school districts can use to provide improved physical activity opportunities for students across the country.

• Research Article: Investigating best practices of district-wide physical activity programmatic efforts in US schools– a mixed-methods approach

See the links below for a full summary, and a 1-page version, of the new research. These pieces provide a summary of the school districts’ activities, including programs, policies, engagement and funding, and describe the factors that facilitated their success.

• Full Summary (PDF): Students' Physical Activity Levels: A Call to Action
• 1-page Summary (PDF): Students' Physical Activity Levels: A Call to Action