Policy approaches are traditionally an important element of public health efforts to address major health problems. Physical inactivity is one of the leading underlying causes of death, disease, and disability in the United States and much of the world, but has only relatively recently been recognized as an important public health problem. Public health policy around physical activity remains poorly defined and developed. However, there are excellent examples of public policy and health policy approaches to other disease prevention issues such as tobacco control and injury prevention upon which a framework for public health policy for physical activity may be built.
The purpose of this presentation is to:
1. Propose a definition for public health policy for physical activity.
2. Explore and list the components of public policy for physical activity.
3. Suggest critical areas upon which public health and public policy efforts should focus.
4. Present a conceptual framework that may help organize thinking about public policy for physical activity.
5. Identify important research gaps and issues for public health policy for physical activity and prioritize them into a general public health policy research agenda and a
specific research agenda for CDC, Active Living Research, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
