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Health Indicator Report of Physical Activity Among Adolescents

According to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 22.1 percent of all Utah public high school students were at an unhealthy weight and 9.8 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 November 2017) 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.

Recommended Physical Activity by Sex, Utah Youth Grades 9-12, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019 and 2021

Data Source

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS)

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.

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.

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

{{style color:#003366 Healthy People Objective PA-3 sub-objectives:}} *{{style color:#003366 PA-3.1:}} Increase the proportion of adolescents who meet current Federal physical activity guidelines for aerobic physical activity[[br]] '''U.S. Target:''' 31.6 percent *{{style color:#003366 PA-3.2:}} (Developmental) Increase the proportion of adolescents who meet current Federal physical activity guidelines for muscle-strengthening activity *{{style color:#003366 PA-3.3:}} (Developmental) Increase the proportion of adolescents who meet current Federal physical activity guidelines for aerobic physical activity and muscle-strengthening activity[[br]] [[br]] CSTE Chronic Disease Indicators

How Are We Doing?

In 2019, 14.0 percent of girls and 28.0 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 2019 Prevention Needs Assessment (PNA) survey, adolescents in grades 8, 10, and 12 in Central Utah LHD (25.8%), and Southeast LHD (22.4%) had higher rates of getting at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day than the state rate (19.0%).

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

Utah high school students reported significantly lower rates of recommended physical activity in 2019 (21.0%) than the U.S. in 2017 (26.1%).

What Is Being Done?

The Utah Department of Health's, Healthy Environments Active Living program plays a key role in improving the health of residents in the state of Utah. The program was formed in July 2013 (as EPICC), through a new funding opportunity from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that allowed for the merging of three previously existing programs: the Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program, the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program, and the Physical Activity, Nutrition and Obesity Program, as well as the addition of a school health program. The Healthy Environments Active Living Program was recently restructured as part of this strategic planning process and the new program model focuses on working together with staff and partners to address the social determinants of health while advancing health equity and increasing policy, systems and environment changes. HEAL works: In Schools:[[br]] 1) Schools are encouraged to adopt the Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program. This framework encourages students to be physically active for 60 minutes a day through school, home, and community activities.[[br]] 2) Height and weight trends are being tracked in a sample of elementary students to monitor Utah students.[[br]] 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:[[br]] 1) The Utah Council for Worksite Health Promotion recognizes businesses that offer employee fitness and health promotion programs.[[br]] 2) HEAL offers a training on developing worksite wellness programs called Work@Health. HEAL also partners with local health departments to encourage worksites to complete the CDC Scorecard and participate in yearly health risk assessment for their employees. HEAL provides toolkits and other resources for employers interested in implementing wellness programs through the [http://heal.health.utah.gov heal.health.utah.gov] website: [https://heal.health.utah.gov/worksite-wellness/] In communities:[[br]] HEAL receives federal funding to partner with worksites and community-based organizations to increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables in community settings and worksites. HEAlL also partners with LHDs to work with cities and/or counties within their jurisdictions to create a built environment that encourages physical activity. In Healthcare:[[br]] 1) HEAL works with health care systems to establish community clinical linkages to support individuals at risk for or diagnosed with diabetes or hypertension to engage in lifestyle change programs such as chronic disease self-management and diabetes prevention programs. In Childcare:[[br]] 1) Ten local health departments statewide have implemented the TOP Star program, which aims to improve the nutrition, physical activity, and breastfeeding environments and achieve best practice in child care centers and homes.[[br]] 2) HEAL 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 HEAL 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:[[br]] *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.[[br]] [[br]] Appropriate evidence based interventions can be found at [http://www.centertrt.org/?p=interventions_interventions_overview].

Available Services

Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs: A Guide for Schools [https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/pdf/13_242620-A_CSPAP_SchoolPhysActivityPrograms_Final_508_12192013.pdf] School Health Guidelines to Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity [http://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/npao/strategies.htm] Action for Healthy Kids Program - for more information, visit [http://www.actionforhealthykids.org] The Healthy Environments Active Living website located at [https://heal.health.utah.gov/]

Health Program Information

Overarching Goals: Healthy People: Increase access to resources that empower all people in Utah to reach their full health potential. Healthy Communities: Increase the capacity of communities to support and promote healthy living for all individuals. Equitable Society: Increase opportunities for people who are under-resourced and under-represented in Utah to live healthy and thriving lives.
Page Content Updated On 10/14/2022, Published on 12/20/2022
The information provided above is from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services IBIS-PH web site (http://ibis.health.state.gov). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: " Retrieved Tue, 19 March 2024 4:07:34 from Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Indicator-Based Information System for Public Health Web site: http://ibis.health.state.gov ".

Content updated: Tue, 20 Dec 2022 15:43:08 MST