Research & Reports

Elevate Health (Formerly Research Digest)

Elevate Health is a quarterly publication of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition. Issues cover a range of topics that includes aspects of sports, physical activity and fitness, physical education, nutrition, and dietetics research. The goal of the publication is to present a balanced, research-to-practice, evidence-based analysis of the topic for educators, sports coaches, public health practitioners and students. View issues of Elevate Health and view past issues of the Research Digests, and be sure to subscribe to the mailing list to be the first to know when new editions are released!

Federal Guidelines/Reports on Physical Activity & Nutrition

• 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Published every five years since 1980, the guidelines provide evidence-based nutrition information and advice for people age 2 and older.
• Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Midcourse Report: Strategies to Increase Physical Activity Among Youth: The report describes intervention strategies for increasing physical activity among youth aged 3 to 17 years in key settings including school, preschool and childcare, community, family and home, and primary health care.
• 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans: The first-ever Federal guidelines for physical activity describe the types and amounts of physical activity that offer substantial health benefits to Americans.
• Exercise and Physical Activity for Older Adults: From the National Institute on Aging, learn the benefits of exercise for older adults, how to get started, exercises to try, and how to stay active.
• Healthy Aging in Action: Advancing the National Prevention Strategy: The Healthy Aging in Action (HAIA) report identifies recommendations and actions to promote healthy aging and improve health and well-being in later life. HAIA highlights federal and nonfederal policies and programs that reflect the National Prevention Strategy’s approach of targeting prevention and wellness efforts to promote healthy aging to further advance the Strategy for an aging society.
• Vital Signs – Cancer and Obesity: Vital Signs is a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This edition discusses the connection between overweight and obesity and at least 13 different types of cancer.
• Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults and Youth: United States, 2015–2016: Data Brief from CDC's National Center for Health Statistics regarding the prevalence of obesity in the U.S.
• Health-Related Behaviors and Academic Achievement Among High School Students - United States, 2015: Issue of CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) focused on the links between educational outcomes and how they are affected by healthy behaviors.
• Healthy People 2020: Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans.
• Healthy People 2010 Final Review – Complete Report: The end-of-decade assessment tracks physical activity, nutrition, and obesity objectives and goals set in 2000.
• Step It Up! The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities: The Office of the Surgeon General (OSG) calls on Americans to be more physically active through walking and calls on the nation to better support walking and walkability.

State-Specific Resources

• Chronic Disease State Policy Tracking System: Search state-level legislation and regulation pertaining to nutrition, physical activity and obesity topics by state, year, bill number, status, and health category.
• State-Based Physical Activity Program Directory: Provides program information about states and communities, and how they are promoting nutrition and physical activity strategies to reduce obesity.