ENVIRONMENTAL AND POLICY APPROACHES TO CARDIOVASCULAR-DISEASE PREVENTION THROUGH PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY - ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The majority of Americans remain inactive despite evidence of signific ant health benefits from even moderately intense activity. Previous in tervention efforts have generally focused on changing individual behav ior. This article discusses the use of policy, legislative and regulat ory, and environmental interventions in promoting physical activity to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other chronic diseases. The authors present evidence on the need, formulation, description, and ef fectiveness of policy and environmental intervention approaches. Types of approaches addressed to promote physical activity include federal, state, and local legislation and regulation, policy development and i mplementation, and environmental support. They also describe opportuni ties for state and local health departments to initiate and participat e in environmental and policy approaches.