Guidelines | Model Programs | Strategies

Guidelines

California Department of Health Services Physical Activity Guidelines for Children, Youth and Adults

National Association for Sports and Physical Education published Physical Activity for Children: A Statement of Guidelines for Children Ages 5 - 12, 2nd Edition.  Full manual can be purchased online.

Guidelines for School and Community Programs to Promote Lifelong Physical Activity Among Young People by Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Model Programs

The mission of Starlings Volleyball Clubs USA San Mateo Chapter is to help prevent childhood obesity in vulnerable populations by addressing its two main causes, poor nutrition and lack of physical activity. The Starlings program helps minority and low-income girls ages 12 to 18 by 1) developing their athletic skills through participation in a team sport, 2) teaching them healthy eating and exercise habits, and 3) providing them with a safe haven where caring, involved adults encourage them to stay away from drugs and gangs, do well in school and go on to college.  Click here to read an article about Starlings or view their video. 

P.H.A.T. or Promoting Healthy Activities Together uses a community-based approach and embraced music, dance, emceeing, and other elements of hip-hop culture (in community centers, schools, after school programs and other organized settings) to deliver important messages about healthy eating and physical activity.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention created the VERB Campaign.  The campaign is planned as a five-year strategic effort to promote physical activity through research, media, partnerships, and community efforts.

The California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program conducted Project REAL (Redefining Excellence, Activity, and Leadership) to encourage physical activity and healthy eating among Asian American and Pacific Islander (API) adolescents in the San Francisco Bay Area. Enter your email address to sign up and read this report.

Strategies

California Adolescent and Nutrition Fitness (CANFit) Program published a policy brief, The Afterschool Landscape in California, Opportunities of the Afterschool Education and Safety Program Act explores the landscape of after school in the state, including the differences between programs run by local education agencies and those run by community-based programs, and how programs are implementing physical activity and nutrition components. The brief also highlights how The California Endowment's Healthy Eating and Active Communities are helping to shape the movement toward intentional physical activity and nutrition in after school, and it provides recommendations for communities interested in expanding after school opportunities to promote healthy lifestyles.

CANFit Needs Assessment Guide outlines a process for uncovering the role of culture in nutrition and physical activity habits in multi-ethnic youth so that information may be used in to improve their habits in a multi-culturally appropriate way.

Physical Activity Pyramid for your Afterschool Program created by California Adolescent Nutrition Fitness (CANFit) Program.

Promoting Health and Preventing Obesity in Afterschool Programs: Critical Issues to Consider addresses current afterschool structures, practices, and recommendations. Appendix A consists of California Adolescent and Nutrition Fitness (CANFit) guidelines for program content. Appendix B includes CANFit criteria for reviewing physical activity programs.

Promoting Physical Activity and Healthy Nutrition in Afterschool Settings: Strategies for Program Leaders and Policy Makers by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

Policy Recommendations on Nutrition and Physical Activity in Middle Schools, Afterschool Programs, and Communities by California Adolescent and Nutrition Fitness (CANFit) Program.

JointUse.org is a website created by the Joint Use Statewide Task Force (JUST) to ensure that all children have a safe space to play and be active within easy reach.  The website features information on joint use policies, joint use checklist and agreement templates, funding resources, and success stories.  It even has a joint use locator where you put in your address and it gives you the contact information of organizations near you that currently have joint use agreements with other organizations in their area. 

Public Health Law & Policy (PHLP) has just released a toolkit that helps communities and school districts work together to develop joint use agreements, increasing access to recreational facilities on school grounds.  PHLP also developed many joint use resources, including a comprehensive checklist for developing a joint use agreement and model agreement language that can be tailored to any community’s needs.