Leadership for solutions

For the first time, public health, zoning, transportation, fitness, education, government, law and some business interests are united in determination to help reverse the trend of American obesity and inactivity.  

Leadership for Active Living (LAL) is an initiative of the Washington Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity (WCPPA). WCPPA is a statewide coalition of public and private organizations. Our mission is to promote environments that offer active living options - a way of life that integrates physical activity into daily routines.

Leadership for Active living is a national initiative that involves collaborations between The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and several national partner organizations, including the National Governor's Association (NGA). In 2003, WCPPA partnered with NGA and the Washington State Department of Health to bring LAL to our state. LAL supports key business and government leaders as they create and promote policies, programs and places to enable active living.

As a coalition we are the voice for hundreds of staff, board members, and volunteers, and tens of thousands of members of state departments, associations and community groups in each of the 39 counties across Washington State.  

Leadership for Active Living works to:

• Educates leaders about the impact of community design on health.
• Provides information about policies and programs that support active living.
• Creates tools and materials to help leaders implement active living strategies.
• Facilitates cooperative efforts between state and local leaders.
• Builds a network to provide peer support for leaders working on active living issues.
• Helps leaders generate community support for active living.
• Check to see if there is a mall walking program near you

When people consider factors adversely affecting their health, they generally focus on influences, such as poor diet or the need for more exercise.  

Community factors such as housing characteristics, land-use patterns, transportation choices, or architectural or urban-design decisions, may be considered as potential health hazards.

Being inactive has been linked to an increase in heart disease, high blood pressure, dangerous cholesterol levels, cancer and diabetes. Factors contributing to an individual's choice to be active or not include:

• Long, unwalkable distances between homes, shopping, jobs and schools;
• Lack of safe places to walk or exercise, and few easily accessible destinations;
• Perception that walking and bicycling are unsafe due to traffic; and,
• Buildings and sites designed to accommodate access in cars, not by feet.

Clearly individual choice is important but equally important are environment/policy issues that make it difficult for the individual to make the healthy choice.

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