Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
“Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports” is an initiative that offers information about concussions—a type of traumatic brain injury—to coaches, parents, and athletes involved in youth sports.  It provides vital information on preventing, recognizing, and responding to a suspected concussion to help ensure the health and safety of young athletes.

As many as 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related concussions are estimated to occur in the United States each year. 

The “Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports” tool kit contains:

• Fact sheet for coaches on concussion;
• Fact sheet for athletes on concussion;
• Fact sheet for parents on concussion;
• Clipboard with concussion facts for coaches;
• Magnet with concussion facts for coaches and parents;
• Poster with concussion facts for coaches and sports administrators; and
• Quiz for coaches, athletes, and parents to test their concussion knowledge.

The tool kit can be ordered or downloaded at this link.

Get more detailed information about concussions and traumatic brain injury.

The CDC released Advancing the Nation’s Health: A Guide to Public Health Research Needs, 2006-2015.  The document highlights critical research areas that should be addressed within the next decade by the CDC and its partners.  The chapter, “Promote Health to Reduce Chronic Diseases and Disability,” which begins on page 45, includes references to healthy behaviors such as physical activity. Download the document and review information pertinent to this effort here.

The CDC’s Behavioral Surveillance Branch in the Division of Adult and Community Health released the 2006 SMART BRFSS data and prevalence tables and the BRFSS maps.

SMART BRFSS (Selected Metropolitan/Micropolitan Area Risk Trends from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System) includes data from 2002 through 2006, with prevalence estimates for over 170 metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas (MMSAs), as well as many counties within those areas.

The Web site includes pre-set Quick View charts which compare county, MMSA, and state data for seven select risk factors in an easy-to-print PDF format.  One of the featured risk factors is a question asking respondents if they participated in any leisure-time exercise or physical activity in the past 30 days. 

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

Bright Futures for women's health and wellness young women's physical activity and healthy eating guide and wallet card are now available free of charge from the HRSA Information Center (1-888-ASK-HRSA) and online. Provider tools have also been updated.  Get all of the Bright Futures materials (community resources and information for adult women).  

National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Diabetes Education Program
Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel is a comprehensive guide to empower school personnel, parents, and students to create a safe learning environment and equal access to educational opportunities for all students with diabetes.

NDEP’s School Guide contains user-friendly tools, copier-ready action plans, a diabetes primer, and a review of school responsibilities under federal laws.  Developed in response to problems faced by students with diabetes, their parents, and school personnel, the guide addresses typical problems such as students who have no one to help them with daily diabetes care tasks (such as checking blood glucose levels or administering insulin) or what to do during a diabetes emergency.

For a free copy of the National Diabetes Education Program’s Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel, visit NDEP's Web site and click on “Resources for Health, Education, and Business Professionals” and then select the link for “School Personnel.”  You can also call 1-800-438-5383.

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
View the redesigned Prevention Report (PDF), a quarterly publication for public health professionals that provides updates on prevention programs, services, and information developed by HHS and its stakeholders.

Subscribe to receive the Prevention Report electronically.

And elsewhere…

Get Outdoors USA!
Get Outdoors USA! is a campaign to encourage kids (and families) to engage in outdoor activities on the nation’s public lands and waters.  The campaign, lead by the American Recreation Coalition and the Coleman Company, seeks to bring public and private partners together to promote outdoor recreational activities among children in an effort to turn the tide on the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity.  One of the initial resources of the campaign is the release of 10 Ways to Unlock the Fun of the Great Outdoors with Your Kids this Fall, a list of activities children, parents, and grandparents can do in the great outdoors!

Outdoor Industry Foundation (OIF)
OIF released The Next Generation of Outdoor Participants Report-2007, a result of responses to an on-line survey among Americans aged six and older regarding their participation in 114 outdoor and recreational activities. 

Trust for America’s Health (TFAH)
TFAH released F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2007.  The report provides an update of State obesity and overweight rates, along with physical inactivity, diabetes and hypertension rates among adults. The report also examines a range of Federal and State policies designed to address obesity and provides assessments of different approaches and strategies successful in reducing obesity that were conducted in various community-settings.

El Paso Takes Physical Activity to the Streets
In May 2007, El Paso, Texas made history becoming one of the first American cities to take the parks to the streets with Ciclovia.  Ciclovia is a temporary urban space of public streets closed to motor vehicles that allows pedestrians, cyclists, rollerbladers and walkers to experience the outdoors through free movement on a road that is usually congested with automobile traffic.  It is different than a race, parade, trail or bike lane. 

El Paso City Leadership developed Ciclovia as a response to quality of life issues facing the community.  El Paso struggles with severe poverty.  Downtown and South Central El Paso are among the poorest neighborhoods in the United States. (US Census Data)  Additionally, El Pasoans suffer from obesity and diabetes in remarkably high rates.  Nearly 68% of El Paso women and 77% percent of El Paso men are obese and over 10% of the population has diabetes.  (Pan American Health Organization)  Furthermore, El Paso is experiencing severe declines in outdoor recreation.  El Paso only has 25% of the parkland that the average US city its size has.  The majority of El Pasoans live more than half a mile from their nearest park. (Halff and Associates)

City Representative Beto O’Rourke saw Ciclovia as the perfect project to provide free outdoor recreation to an underserved portion of the community.  His office teamed up with City of El Paso Lead Planner, Chuck Kooshian, to pilot the program.  O’Rourke collected nearly $100,000 dollars in private sector donations to bring Ciclovia to El Paso every Sunday in May. Over 5,000 people took part in El Paso’s Ciclovia- not including all the 4-legged participants.

Community fitness is a hot topic throughout the United States because of the physical health benefits and the dialogue it encourages among neighbors.  Ciclovia is a perfect example of the social benefits of outdoor recreation. “People got to meet their neighbors and make new friends,” Ciclovia Coordinator, Shamori Whitt, said.  “At the beginning of Ciclovia, people were walking by themselves.  By the end, they were in groups.”