UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State’s Department of Kinesiology has made great strides in recent years in promoting physical activity throughout the classroom and the community. Melissa Bopp, associate professor, will have an opportunity to share those projects and initiatives with a national audience.
Bopp will present on the department’s outreach and engagement projects at the American Kinesiology Association’s 2015 workshop Jan. 26 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The workshop, titled “Intersection of Physical Activity and Public Health,” aims to provide insights about best practices for effective outreach programming. Attendees will rotate around the tables to hear brief summaries of different types of outreach programming occurring at a number of different institutions.
“I’m really excited that we’re at the forefront of physical activity being a tool for presenting chronic diseases,” Bopp said.
Inactivity is a risk factor for a number of health conditions, including diabetes and many cancers.
“We have a population-level problem,” Bopp said. “We need a population-level solution.”
Bopp’s presentation will focus on creating opportunities for community engagement in physical activity and public health courses, centered around “walkable” and “bikeable” communities.
“This presentation will outline different strategies that have been used to create service learning in kinesiology undergraduate classes,” Bopp said. “Using a framework established by national organizations, students have an opportunity to apply concepts of how community, policy and the environment impact physical activity.”
Bopp will discuss collaborations with the League of American Bicyclists’ Bike-Friendly America campaign to examine engineering, encouragement, enforcement, education and evaluation issues associated with bike-friendliness.
“One example,” she said, “will include working with Penn State to achieve a ‘bike-friendly university’ designation, and another is partnering with local businesses to achieve a ‘bike-friendly business’ designation.”
“Additionally we will discuss how the framework for the American Fitness Index can be applied in class to help students build data collection skills and interact with the community to work toward a healthier environment,” Bopp said.
In addition to discussing her class’s efforts to promote bike-friendly statuses in the community, Bopp also will speak about Active Lions, a campaign that launched in the fall to promote active travel on University Park’s campus.
For more information about Penn State’s Department of Kinesiology, visit hhd.psu.edu/kines.
For more information about the American Kinesiology Association, visit www.americankinesiology.org.