Active Living For Rural Youth: Addressing Physical Inactivity For Rural Communities

• Active living has four domains: transportation, recreation, occupation, and household.
• Active living research incorporates an ecological approach to promoting physical activity by recognizing that individual behavior, social environments, physical environments, and policies contribute to behavior change.
• This study tests and refines a conceptual model between the individual and the environment in rural communities.
• Findings reveal a host of “predisposing” and “enabling” factors, including sociodemographic, environmental, policy, and programmatic elements that extend across the fours domains of active living.
• Researchers suggest that efforts to combat childhood obesity must consider rural residents a priority population because of the unique challenges that rural communities face.

Yousefian, A, Ziller, E, Swartz, J, and Hartley, D. “Active living for rural youth: addressing physical inactivity in rural communities.” Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. 15.3 (2009): 223-231.