Definition

The percentage of public high school students who were physically active doing any kind of physical activity that increased their heart rate and made them breathe hard some of the time for a total of at least 60 minutes per day on all of the past seven days.

Numerator

The number of public high school students who were physically active doing any kind of physical activity that increased their heart rate and made them breathe hard some of the time for a total of at least 60 minutes per day on all of the past seven days.

Denominator

All public high school students.

Data Interpretation Issues

Because of changes in the context of Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) physical activity questions starting in 2011, trends in these YRBS data should be interpreted with caution.

Why Is This Important?

According to the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 17.5 percent of all Utah public high school students were at an unhealthy weight and 6.4 percent were obese. Since diet and physical activity have been shown to help reduce weight and also to maintain weight, monitoring physical activity levels in adolescents is important. The recommendation based on the most current (as of October 2013) HHS Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans is: Children and adolescents should have 60 minutes (1 hour) or more of physical activity daily. Aerobic: Most of the 60 or more minutes a day should be either moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity and should include vigorous-intensity physical activity at least 3 days a week. Muscle-strengthening: As part of their 60 or more minutes of daily physical activity, children and adolescents should include muscle-strengthening physical activity on at least 3 days of the week. Bone-strengthening: As part of their 60 or more minutes of daily physical activity, children and adolescents should include bone-strengthening physical activity on at least 3 days of the week.

Healthy People Objective PA-3:

Increase the proportion of adolescents who meet current Federal physical activity guidelines for aerobic physical activity and for muscle-strengthening activity
U.S. Target: Not applicable, see subobjectives in this category

Other Objectives

Healthy People Objective PA-3 sub-objectives: PA-3.1 Increase the proportion of adolescents who meet current Federal physical activity guidelines for aerobic physical activity U.S. Target: 20.2 percent PA-3.2 (Developmental) Increase the proportion of adolescents who meet current Federal physical activity guidelines for muscle-strengthening activity PA-3.3 (Developmental) Increase the proportion of adolescents who meet current Federal physical activity guidelines for aerobic physical activity and muscle-strengthening activity CSTE Chronic Disease Indicators

How Are We Doing?

In 2013, 11.5 percent of girls and 27.6 percent of boys in Utah high schools reported getting at least 60 minutes of physical activity on all 7 days of the week. From the Prevention Needs Assessment (PNA) survey, adolescents in grades 8, 10, and 12 in TriCounty (27.0%), Wasatch (24.9%), Central (23.7%), and Bear River (20.9%), and Southwest (20.7%) had higher rates of getting at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day than the state rate (17.5%).

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

Utah high school students reported significantly lower rates of recommended physical activity in 2013 (19.7%) than the U.S. (27.1%).

What Is Being Done?

Through funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the Healthy Living through Environment, Policy, and Improved Clinical Care Program (EPICC) was established from the consolidation of three programs (Diabetes Prevention and Control Program, Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program, and the Physical Activity, Nutrition and Obesity Program) and the addition of one (School Health). This consolidation was designed to assist in the coordination of activities to ensure a productive, collaborative, and efficient program focused on health outcomes. The program aims to reduce the incidence of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke by targeting risk factors including reducing obesity, increasing physical activity and nutritious food consumption, and improving diabetes and hypertension control. Housed within the EPICC Program, the Utah Physical Activity and Nutrition Plan (U-PAN) 2010-2020 plan was released April 2010 and addresses the six areas of focus including 1) increase physical activity; 2) increase consumption of fruits and vegetables; 3) decrease the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages; 4) increase breastfeeding initiation, duration, and exclusivity; 5) reduce the consumption of high energy dense foods; and 6) decrease television viewing. Implementation of the plan is accomplished through five workgroups: Schools, Childcare, Healthcare, Worksite, and Community. One of EPICC's partners, Utah Partnership for Healthy Weight, a non-profit organization, is focused on bringing informational and financial resources not readily available to state health departments to obesity prevention efforts in Utah. The Partnership works to coordinate the many ongoing and future initiatives within Utah's communities. UDOH staff attend regular meetings of the Partnership and also serve as Partnership board members. Currently, activities are occurring in five main areas: In Schools: (1) The USDA's HealthierUS Challenge helps elementary schools set up policy and environmental supports that make it easier for students and staff to be physically active and eat healthy food. (2) Height and weight trends are being tracked in a sample of elementary students to monitor Utah students. (3) Action for Healthy Kids brings partners together to improve nutrition and physical activity environments in Utah's schools by implementing the school-based state plan strategies, working with local school boards to improve or develop policies for nutritious foods in schools. This includes recommendations for healthy vending options. In Worksites: (1) The Utah Council for Worksite Health Promotion recognizes businesses that offer employee fitness and health promotion programs. (2) The U-PAN worksite workgroup provides toolkits and other resources for employers interested in implementing wellness programs through the choosehealth.utah.gov website: http://choosehealth.utah.gov/business/worksite-wellness.php In the Community: (1) Local health departments (LHDs) receive federal funding to partner with schools, worksites, and other community based organizations to increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables through farmers markets and retail stores. LHDs also work with cities within their jurisdictions to create a built environment that encourages physical activity. (2) The EPICC program leads a statewide coalition to implement strategies within the U-PAN state plan. In Healthcare: (1) The Utah Medical Association's Healthy Lifestyles workgroup also serves as the U-PAN Healthcare workgroup. They work to address objectives of the U-PAN State Plan. (2) Several of the U-PAN Healthcare Workgroup objectives involve regularly assessing and counseling for physical activity during patient visits. (3) The EPICC program works with health care systems to establish community clinical linkages to support individuals at risk for or diagnosed with diabetes to engage in lifestyle change programs such as chronic disease self-management. In Childcare: (1) LHDs statewide are implementing the TOP Star program, which aims to improve the nutrition and physical activity environments and achieve best practice in child care centers and homes. (2) EPICC works with state and local partners through the Childcare Obesity Prevention workgroup to implement policy and systems changes in early care and education across agencies statewide.

Evidence-based Practices

The EPICC program promotes evidence based practices collected by the Center TRT. The Center for Training and Research Translation (Center TRT) bridges the gap between research and practice and supports the efforts of public health practitioners working in nutrition, physical activity, and obesity prevention by: *Reviewing evidence of public health impact and disseminating population-level interventions; *Designing and providing practice-relevant training both in-person and web-based; *Addressing social determinants of health and health equity through training and translation efforts; and, *Providing guidance on evaluating policies and programs aimed at impacting healthy eating and physical activity. Appropriate evidence based interventions can be found at: http://www.centertrt.org/?p=interventions_interventions_overview

Available Services

Gold Medal School Initiative - for more information, call 538-9454 Action for Healthy Kids Program - for more information, visit www.actionforhealthykids.org A Healthy Worksite Award Program - for more information, visit www.health.utah.gov/worksitewellness The Utah Department of Health's obesity website located at www.choosehealth.utah.gov

Relevant Population Characteristics

Individuals with respiratory conditions, such as asthma, are recommended to reduce or restrict outdoor exercising on days when ozone or PM 2.5 levels are elevated.

Health Status Outcomes

According to the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 6.4 percent of all Utah public high school students were obese. Diet and physical activity have been shown to help reduce weight and to maintain a healthy weight.

Data Notes

Because of changes in question context starting in 2011, YRBS prevalence estimates derived from the 60 minutes of physical activity question in 2011 are not comparable to those reported in 2009 or earlier. Beginning with the 2005-2009 national YRBS questionnaire, physical activity was assessed with three questions (in the following order) that asked the number of days students participated in: 1) at least 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity, 2) at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, and 3) at least 60 minutes of aerobic (moderate and vigorous) physical activity. On the 2011 national YRBS questionnaire, only the 60 minutes of aerobic physical activity question was included.

Data Source

Utah Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, Utah Department of Health

Data Notes

Because of changes in question context starting in 2011, YRBS prevalence estimates derived from the 60 minutes of physical activity question in 2011 are not comparable to those reported in 2009 or earlier. On the 2005-2009 national YRBS questionnaire, physical activity was assessed with three questions (in the following order) that asked the number of days students participated in: 1) at least 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity, 2) at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, and 3) at least 60 minutes of aerobic (moderate and vigorous) physical activity. Beginning with the 2011 national YRBS questionnaire, only the 60 minutes of aerobic physical activity question was included.

Data Notes

Adolescents in grades 8, 10, and 12, from the Prevention Needs Assessment (PNA) survey.

Data Source

Prevention Needs Assessment Survey

References and Community Resources

More information on the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System may be found on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/yrbs/index.htm