000 children have been reached as a result of Safe Routes to School funding; this is roughly 11 percent of the pre-kindergarten through eighth grade public school population in the five states.
- Key finding from this study: Engineering projects made up about 72 percent of the funding in the five states, with sidewalk projects featured in about 69 percent of these projects. Interestingly, the engineering projects that were on smaller scales (affected fewer schools and students) and included encouragement and education components tended to perform better.
- Key finding from this study: Rates of walking increased by 45 percent, bicycling increased by 24 percent, and all active travel to school increased by 37 percent in these five states.
- The study findings suggested that Safe Routes to School projects may be more effective at encouraging bicycling to school where few children already do so.
- Poor lifestyle behaviors, including suboptimal diet, physical inactivity, and tobacco use, are leading causes of preventable diseases globally. Although even modest population shifts in risk substantially alter health outcomes, the optimal population-level approaches to improve lifestyle are not well established.
- In this paper, the authors systematically reviewed and graded the current scientific evidence for effective population approaches to improve dietary habits, increase physical activity, and reduce tobacco use.
- Strategies were considered in 6 broad domains: (1) Media and educational campaigns; (2) labeling and consumer information; (3) taxation, subsidies, and other economic incentives; (4) school and workplace approaches; (5) local environmental changes; and (6) direct restrictions and mandates. The writing group also reviewed the potential contributions of healthcare systems and surveillance systems to behavior change efforts.
- Several specific population interventions were identified, providing a set of specific evidence-based strategies that deserve close attention and prioritization for wider implementation