Physical Activity, Diet and Media Advocacy
Cardiovascular Health Institute

Terry L. Bazzarre, PhD
Senior Program Officer
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Background: Sixty percent of adults in the U.S. are either inactive or not sufficiently active to receive the benefits of cardiovascular fitness. Environmental and technology changes have further reduced opportunities for achieving public health recommendations for increasing the physical activity levels of the population. Physical inactivity and unhealthy food practices have been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular diseases including stroke, diabetes, some forms of cancer and obesity as well as increased risk of CVD risk factors (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides and insulin resistance). There is an increased interest in developing media advocacy tools as part of effective risk reduction strategies for increasing physical activity and improving healthy food choices.

Objectives: The overall goal of this presentation is to provide fellows with information that will build the capacity of state and county health departments and their American Heart Association partners to deliver effective cardiovascular and stroke prevention programs related to promoting physical activity and healthy food choices. Special emphasis will be placed on opportunities to use media advocacy as a tool for promoting healthy behaviors. The content is focused on programmatic action: identifying best practices, winning strategies, effective tools and messages, training and funding and resource opportunities.

A Synergistic Model adopted by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will be described. The model is based on a goal of increasing physical activity and other healthy behaviors by creating "Market push" based on scientific research, building capacity by identifying best practices and effective risk reduction strategies, and "market pull" by increasing consumer awareness and demand for healthcare services that promote physical activity and other healthy behaviors. The Health and Behavior team of the foundation has developed three overarching strategies that will lead to increasing the number of activity friendly communities and effective policies, increasing the number of Americans who are 50 years of age or older and who are physically active and increasing the number of effective patient provider interactions which promote health behaviors.

Media advocacy programs for nutrition and physical activity will be reviewed. Few programs have been published and most evaluations of these programs have been limited. Results suggest successful increases in awareness of the benefits of physical activity and healthy food choices but little evidence of long-term behavior change.