Encouraging the Benefits of Active Living

There’s a cascade effect of positive outcomes when individuals are active. Physical wellbeing, disease prevention, improved emotional health and social interaction are just a few of the benefits. Communities across the country, however, face barriers that subtly dissuade residents from engaging. It’s within that tension that Renée Umstattd Meyer lives out her calling in research: to eliminate those barriers to active living.

Why aren’t more people active? Answers vary from one community to another, with factors like environment, infrastructure and support all playing a role. Residents and leaders are the experts on the challenges their communities face, so Umstattd Meyer partners to understand their challenges and synthesize those findings through interdisciplinary research at the intersection of public health, social science and behavioral science. It’s a generous partnership that equips communities with strategies to address those needs and a plan to eliminate challenges going forward.

Umstattd Meyer has studied communities of all size, and much of her work has focused on elevating activity in rural communities. That work may result in Play Streets, which are temporary closures of streets or public spaces that encourage children of all ages to set screens and devices aside and engage in fun, outdoor activities. Or, that work may address policy or environmental changes that make it easier for residents to enjoy the benefits of an active lifestyle.

“I have personally experienced the benefits of physical activity for myself and those around me, and I feel called to help,” Umstattd Meyer says. “We all have different abilities, but our bodies were designed to move and to benefit from that movement. ‘How can we do this better?’ When we work together to answer that question, we can provide accessible opportunities for people to move and to thrive.”