Hearts N’ Parks

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute & National Recreation and Park Association

Purpose:

To reduce the growing trend of obesity and the risk of coronary heart disease in the United States

Target Population:

Americans of all ages

Program Goals:

• To encourage participants to aim for a healthy weight, follow a heart-healthy eating plan, and engage in regular physical activity

• To increase the percentage of children, adolescents and adults who engage in heart-healthy behaviors to prevent the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD)

• To increase the knowledge of nutrition and healthy eating habits among children, adolescents and adults

• To improve attitudes of children, adolescents and adults toward healthy eating and physical activity

Years in Operation:

1999 – 2004 (the program has since evolved into the Step Up to Health program)

Results:

The pilot sites of North Carolina and Arlington County, Va., were administered pre- and post-questionnaires about the effectiveness of the program. The evaluation found that participants retained information about heart-healthy behaviors and wanted to eat healthier. Children reported wanting to learn new physical activities, and senior citizens reported feeling healthier.

Further data analysis from the "Magnet Centers" found:

• Children - Positive attitudes toward physical activity increased significantly, and children reported learning new ways to be physically active. There was also significant improvement in heart-healthy eating.

• Adolescents - There was significant improvement in heart-healthy eating and heart-healthy eating attitudes for both boys and girls, while boys scored higher than girls in overweight/obesity attitudes and heart-healthy eating intentions.

• Adults - Participants finished programs with improved scores in heart-healthy nutrition, and reduced obesity, and risks of high cholesterol and high blow pressure, while engaging in proper physical activity. It should also be noted that adults without a college education showed greater improvement than those with some college education.

Funding:

Hearts N’ Parks is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health and by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA).

Key Partners:

American Dietetic Association; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

What Works and Why:

Hearts N' Parks programs work because they have increased credibility and visibility through the NHLBI and the NRPA. It is a self-sustaining program because it is developed by a community agency and must operate within the community. Program components can also be incorporated into already-existing health and wellness programs. Most importantly, the program is meant for everyone, so entire families and the entire community can participate. 

Structure and Operations:

Hearts N' Parks was started as a pilot program in North Carolina in 1999 and in Arlington County, Va., in 2000. Both pilot sites educated participants in local youth and adult community park and recreation programs about physical activity and heart-healthy eating. After the completion of the pilot program, Hearts N' Parks expanded to 56 new sites in 2002. The new sites, known as "magnet centers," were selected based on the elevated risk of CVD in their area. All participating magnet centers were required to make a three-year commitment to the program. Hearts N' Parks taught participants skills for incorporating healthy behaviors into everyday life, including how accessing public parks can positively impact health. The foundations of the program include:

• Activities that can be incorporated into many different programs. Activities focus on nutrition, fitness and stress reduction, and can be tailored for youth, adolescents and adults.

• Training for recreation and park departments and other community organizations to integrate heart-healthy activities into existing activities or to develop new activities.

• Consumer-oriented materials to communicate heart-healthy messages related to weight management, physical activity, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart disease. Materials are also tailored to specific populations such as African-Americans and Hispanics.

• Evaluation materials to measure the program's impact.

Barriers to Success:

Barriers to the success of Hearts N’ Parks were money, time and staff resistance. Many resources were provided to each community, but in some cases there were direct outlays of money. For instance, more staff members were needed to handle the increased workload created by the program. Additionally, many sites had staff resistance that came from the top down. Staff resisted because they did not think something needed to be fixed if it was not already broken.

More Information:

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/heart/obesity/hrt_n_pk/index.htm

Download:

Download this program information in PDF format.