chapter
15
Health, Fitness,
Wellness,
and Livability
Kathy Spangler and Ellen O’Sullivan
Introduction
• In 1996, the U.S. Surgeon General’s report
focused on a new health threat: lack of
leisure-time physical activity.
• Recognition was the beginning of renewed
emphasis on the relationship between
leisure time and health.
• Parks and recreation are now central
players in 21st century health and wellbeing in Canada and the United States.
Three Ways Recreation Supports
Health and Well-Being
• Wellness. Desirable outcomes associated with
health and well-being that are natural effects of
participation.
• Leisure facilitation. Providing information,
developing skills, and supporting opportunities
to pursue health and well-being resulting in a
healthier lifestyle.
• Livability. Environmental and economic factors
that support community access and
opportunities to pursue a healthy lifestyle.
Shift From Treatment to Prevention
Three approaches to health care:
• Medical (focuses on treatment). Its main focus is
on treating illness, disease, or some form of
disability or discomfort. Focuses on diagnosis of
diseases and illnesses and ways to alleviate those
ailments.
• Environmental (focuses on outside forces).
Addresses the risks caused by natural forces,
clean air and water, and societal forces such as
socioeconomic status.
(continued)
Shift From Treatment to Prevention
(continued)
• Prevention (holistic focus on wellness):
– Considers interrelationships among various
aspects of a person’s life and attempts to
change lifestyle behavior across the multiple
dimensions of human existence.
– Monitors the leading causes of death and actual
contributors to those deaths.
Expanded Industry of Health
and Role of Parks and Recreation
Parks and recreation professionals are
forming partnerships with the following:
• Physicians and hospitals providing recreation
activities with wellness outcomes
• Health departments to improve environmental and
social access and to supplement with leisure-related
aspects of health promotion
• Physical education professionals to augment
opportunities for skill development and other
physical activity during nonschool hours
Parks and Recreation
Across the Wellness Dimensions
• Physical wellness. Functional operation of body
enabling people to reach and maintain optimal
physical condition and nutritional health.
• Intellectual wellness. Development and
maintenance of an active mind to support decision
making and an enriched life.
• Emotional wellness. Positive emotional and
mental state enabling one to enjoy life and cope
with life’s challenges.
(continued)
Parks and Recreation
Across the Wellness Dimensions
(continued)
• Social wellness. Ability to interact with others
comfortably in group settings as a way to secure
intimacy and sense of belonging. Caring
connections = optimal well-being.
• Spiritual wellness. Discovery of one’s core
element of existence that provides meaning,
purpose, and value in life.
• Environmental wellness. Respect for and support
of one’s personal, societal, and natural
environments.
Interconnectedness
of the Wellness Dimensions
• The 6 dimensions of wellness are linked and
interact continually.
• Needs cannot always be segmented into
one specific area and, in a similar manner,
neither can wellness activities.
• It is rare for a particular wellness activity to
incorporate just one dimension of wellness.
Play: An Essential
Wellness Component
• Play is a form of human or animal behavior that is
self-motivated and carried on for intrinsic
purposes.
• It is generally pleasurable and is often marked by
elements of competition, exploration, problem
solving, mimicry, or role taking.
• May appear both in leisure and in work, and may be
marked either by freedom and lack of structure, or
by a set of rules and prescribed actions.
(Kraus, 1990b)
Leisure Facilitation Defined
• Leisure facilitation includes intentional
efforts by leisure providers toward
“facilitating” positive growth, development,
and optimal well-being.
• Consists of information, assistance, and
support provided at different times and at
various levels.
• Levels of leisure facilitation include
awareness, education, coaching, and
counseling.
Levels of Leisure Facilitation
• Leisure awareness. Raises people’s
awareness of the many positive attributes and
effects resulting from leisure-time activity.
• Leisure education. Reflects the learning
aspects within leisure facilitation and can
include skill development as well as exposure
to a variety of leisure-time experiences.
(continued)
Levels of Leisure Facilitation
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• Leisure coaching. A structured self-help
technique that draws on the person’s own
resources and potential (Leoni & Berbling,
1980).
• Leisure counseling. A more organized and
structured approach than leisure coaching that
focuses on changing attitudes and breaking
down barriers to participation.
Recreation’s Role in Livability
• A livable community is one where people can
live safely, secure employment, acquire
essential services, and gain access to a variety
of leisure experiences.
• Roles for the park and recreation industry
include: community mobilization, land-use
planning, park accessibility, and public policy.
Community Mobilization Model
Hearts N’ Parks
1. People. Those inside and outside the organization that
advance health promotion.
2. Programs and practices. Strategies that improve the
intention for health outcomes within current program
offerings.
3. Public visibility. Gaining public attention for the healthrelated benefits of parks and recreation resources.
4. Partnering. Catalyst for attracting unique nontraditional
partners to support improved health outcomes.
5. Performance indicators. Measurements to
demonstrate impact of parks and recreation services.
6. Policy interventions. Environmental indicators and
policies that promote healthy lifestyles and livable
communities.
Land-Use Planning
• Smart growth movement; sprawl index
• Neighborhoods designed to be self-policing
• Common space in developments: pocket parks,
community gardens, community centers, and
neighborhood schools
• Retrofitting existing neighborhoods
• Sharing facilities with neighborhood schools
• Providing semiprivate courtyards shared by no
more than 30 people in dense, multifamily housing
areas
Park Accessibility
Research Findings
• People with access to sidewalks are 28% more likely to
be physically active.
• People with access to walking/jogging trails are 55%
more likely to be physically active.
• 55.2% of respondents report an increase in walking
since they began using the trails.
• People with access to recreational facilities were twice
as likely to get recommended levels of physical activity.
• People with the best access to a variety of built and
natural facilities were 43% more likely to exercise 30
minutes most days than those with poor access.
• People living in areas with few public outdoor recreation
facilities were more likely to be overweight.
Public Policy
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s
Active Living Environments Initiative (ACES)
promotes walking and bicycling and the
development of accessible recreation facilities.
• ACES encourages environmental and policy
interventions to affect increased levels of physical
activity and improved public health.
• Goals of an activity-friendly environment are to
make it easy to choose physical activity options for
daily living.
Career Opportunities
in Health, Fitness, and Wellness
• Public health: American Public Health Association,
www.apha.org
• Fitness and physical education: American Alliance
for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and
Dance, www.aahperd.org
• Community planning and design: American
Planning Association, www.planning.org
• Parks and recreation: National Recreation and
Park Association, www.nrpa.org
(continued)
Career Opportunities
in Health, Fitness, and Wellness
(continued)
• Health promotion and disease prevention: Coalition
for Active Living, www.activeliving.ca
• Wellness in the school, community, or corporate
sector: National Wellness Institute,
www.nationalwellness.org.
• Military wellness and fitness: Executive Business
Media, www.ebmpubs.com, or contact individual
military service unit Web sites
• Incorporate play into wellness and recreation: The
American Association for the Child’s Right to Play,
www.ipausa.org; Association for Play Therapy,
www.a4pt.org; Canadian Association for Child and Play
Therapy, www.cacpt.com
Summary: Two Divergent Roles
•
•
One role is directed toward individuals or
small groups attaining wellness through
recreation activities or aspects of leisure
facilitation by building awareness, providing
education, coaching, or counseling. Focus is
on people and their behaviors.
The other is a community, or societal, role.
Parks and recreation is a vital and visible part
of land use, community mobilization, and
access to parks and recreation as an essential
framework for community livability.