Active Living Research
Pick up a magazine, tune into a talk show, or surf the web these days and you're bound to find a discussion of growing childhood and adult obesity, the role of both physical and mental activity in delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s and other age-related dementias, and our growing disconnect with the outdoors.
Researchers in PRTM are engaged in foundational active living research which helps provide valuable insight, increased understanding and ultimately solutions for all these challenges. The resulting knowledge informs policy-makers and can be applied by practitioners in schools and daycares, community recreation programs, youth and adult sport centers, senior centers and more.
The envisioned outcome: Improved health and well-being for everyone from cradle to grey. Now that's what we call Relevant Research.
Featured Project: 
Investigating Places for Active Recreation in Communities
IPARC researchers explore how recreation, parks and outdoor spaces contribute to physical activity in communities.
Their mission? To advance the science of how parks, recreation and sports environments promote active living and to facilitate the application of evidence-based policies and practices that enhance opportunities for physical activity in these environments to enhance quality of life.
Why does this matter? Because obesity and sedentary lifestyles continue to be leading public health concerns in the US. Only about a quarter of the US population engages in the recommended amount of physical activity daily, and a nearly quarter of the population is inactive.
View our recent media appearance here where Professor Micheal Kanters is featured in this NBC 17 news story on the obesity epidemic amongst children and what research is being conducted to combat it. (Video courtesy of WNCN NBC -17)
Examples of Recent Publications from PRTM in the area of Active Living:
Bocarro, J., Casper, J., Henderson, K, Floyd, M., Moore, R., Kanters, M., Laven, K., & Edwards, M. (2009). Physical activity promotion in North Carolina: Perceptions of public park and recreation directors. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 27(1), 1-16.
Cardenas, D., Henderson, K.A., & Wilson, B. (2009). Physical activity and senior games participation: Benefits, constraints, and behaviors. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 17(2).
Henderson, K.A. (2009). The paradox of sport management and physical activity. Sport Management Review, 12, 57-65.
Kanters, M., Bocarro, J., Casper, J. M., & Forrester, S. (2008). School Intramural Sports: A Platform for Lifetime Sport Participation & Active Leisure. Recreational Sports Journal, 32(2), 134-151.
Bocarro, J., Kanters, M. A., Casper, J. M., & Forrester, S. (2008). School physical education, extracurricular sports, and lifelong active living. Journal of Teaching and Physical Education, 27 (2), 155-166.