Making Physical Activity Research Relevant to Policy Makers

Abstract

Widespread concern about the obesity epidemic has put research on physical activity into a public policy spotlight. Congress, state legislatures, and city councils are all considering measures designed to help create environments that reduce the risk of obesity. While the majority of these actions to date have centered on nutritional issues, many measures to encourage physical activity are also under consideration. In the first half of 2005, at least 18 state legislatures considered bills designed to increase access to walking and bicycling, and many have considered other environmental initiatives to increase active living. A survey of local governments by the International City/County Management Association found that 86% had introduced or were considering initiatives linking bicycling, walking, community design, and health. Lawmakers and agency officials are all clamoring for research that tells them what works. “Research can be an incredible catalyst to expediting change,” according to Ron Sims, Executive of King County, in Washington. “Research that is very well done can bring about an incredible momentum for change.” King County, which encompasses Seattle and surrounding communities, is involved in one of the most ambitious efforts nationwide to use rigorous research results to pin down the impact of transportation and land use on travel behavior, air quality, and health. Yet the experience of Sims and other elected officials has led them to believe that researchers need to better understand the world in which policy makers operate. If researchers want to ensure that their work makes a difference, they need to conduct research that answers the questions that policy makers are asking, then go the extra mile to ensure that their research results are accessible—and, if appropriate, then point in a clear policy direction. Executive Sims and policy makers from the federal, state, and local levels shared their views at a panel convened at the 2005 Active Living Research annual conference to discuss the research that policy makers need—and how to deliver it to them. This article reports the key themes articulated by the panel,* and the quotes are from that discussion. Journal of Physical Activity and Health 2006, 3, Suppl 1, S267-S272 © 2006 Human Kinetics, Inc.