Managing sport-for-development and healthy lifestyles: The sport-for-health model

© 2018 Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand With increased globalization and modernization of people's lives, lifestyle behavior has changed substantially in many countries around the world. This change has brought two key behavior modifications: a reduction in physical activity and an increase in unhealthy eating patterns. Consequently, non-communicable diseases have overtaken communicable diseases as a key health risk area. In response to this issue, healthy lifestyle initiatives and sport-for-development (SFD) programs are now implemented across the world, including projects in the heavily affected Pacific Islands region. In this paper, the authors critically reflect on their lived experiences and the underpinning management processes of the Wokabaot Jalens, a health-focused SFD initiative in Vanuatu. The authors propose the sport-for-health model as a flexible conceptual tool that establishes the nexus between sport management, health promotion, sociocultural development, policy, and sustainability. The authors provide practical and theoretical implications and suggest that the model can underpin and conceptually support other SFD initiatives—and specifically health-related development projects—in the Pacific region and beyond

Advancing the Evidence Base of Sport for Development: A New Open-Access, Peer-Reviewed Journal

We are pleased to release the first edition of the Journal of Sport for Development (JSFD) and we would like to take this opportunity to briefly describe its origins and objectives. In doing so, we endeavour to clarify for researchers, implementers, funders and policy-makers how we believe JSFD fits into the expanding sport for development (SFD) landscape. It is widely accepted that the United Nations International Year of Sport and Physical Education (IYSPE) in 2005 was an advocacy success and sparked a mass expansion in the SFD sector.1 This built on several previous international resolutions that recognised recreational play as a human right and emphasised the social potential of sport.2-9 Over the last decade, SFD has enjoyed widespread and international growth, in terms of resources, constituents, and public awareness.10 During this period several entities have attempted to define and demarcate the SFD sector. We believe that establishing a common definition is a critical step towards unifying a diverse range of stakeholders, many of which separately articulate the role of sport for social change and peace. However, we prefer to view these areas as integral parts of the sector and have adapted a previously described broad and inclusive definition for SFD

Health interventions as vehicles for increased sport participation for women and girls: Socio-managerial insights from a Netball-for-Development Program in Tonga

Against the background of ever-rising non-communicable disease rates, an area that has received increased attention from sport-for-development practitioners and academics is sport-for-health (SFH). SFH projects attempt to contribute to the development of healthy lifestyle behavior and physically active societies through sport-related programs and interventions. The purpose of this paper was to explore the socio-managerial challenges and opportunities of a netball-based SFH program in Tonga. Based on local focus group and interview data, findings were grouped under five overarching themes: strategic management of volunteer network, sociocultural barriers, public space management, events and tournaments as incentives, and collaboration across local and national sports. In discussing these findings in context, we provide implications for managing culturally sensitive SFH projects in the Pacific region and beyond

Signaling Signatures and Functional Properties of Anti-Human CD28 Superagonistic Antibodies

Superagonistic CD28 antibodies (CD28SAs) activate T lymphocytes without concomitant perturbation of the TCR/CD3-complex. In rodents these reagents induce the preferential expansion of regulatory T cells and can be used for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Unexpectedly, the humanized CD28 superagonist TGN1412 caused severe and life threatening adverse effects during a recently conducted phase I clinical trail. The underlying molecular mechanisms are as yet unclear. We show that TGN1412 as well as the commercially available CD28 superagonist ANC28.1 induce a delayed but extremely sustained calcium response in human naïve and memory CD4+ T cells but not in cynomolgus T lymphocytes. The sustained Ca++-signal was associated with the activation of multiple intracellular signaling pathways and together these events culminated in the rapid de novo synthesis of high amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines, most notably IFN-γ and TNF-α. Importantly, sustained transmembranous calcium flux, activation of Src-kinases as well as activation of PI3K were found to be absolutely required for CD28SA-mediated production of IFN-γ and IL-2. Collectively, our data suggest a molecular basis for the severe side effects caused by TGN1412 and impinge upon the relevance of non-human primates as preclinical models for reagents that are supposed to modify the function of human T cells

Status and Trends of Physical Activity Surveillance, Policy, and Research in 164 Countries: Findings From the Global Observatory for Physical Activity—GoPA! 2015 and 2020 Surveys

Background: Physical activity (PA) surveillance, policy, and research efforts need to be periodically appraised to gain insight into national and global capacities for PA promotion. The aim of this paper was to assess the status and trends in PA surveillance, policy, and research in 164 countries. Methods: We used data from the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!) 2015 and 2020 surveys. Comprehensive searches were performed for each country to determine the level of development of their PA surveillance, policy, and research, and the findings were verified by the GoPA! Country Contacts. Trends were analyzed based on the data available for both survey years. Results: The global 5-year progress in all 3 indicators was modest, with most countries either improving or staying at the same level. PA surveillance, policy, and research improved or remained at a high level in 48.1%, 40.6%, and 42.1% of the countries, respectively. PA surveillance, policy, and research scores decreased or remained at a low level in 8.3%, 15.8%, and 28.6% of the countries, respectively. The highest capacity for PA promotion was found in Europe, the lowest in Africa and low- and lower-middle-income countries. Although a large percentage of the world’s population benefit from at least some PA policy, surveillance, and research efforts in their countries, 49.6 million people are without PA surveillance, 629.4 million people are without PA policy, and 108.7 million live in countries without any PA research output. A total of 6.3 billion people or 88.2% of the world’s population live in countries where PA promotion capacity should be significantly improved. Conclusion: Despite PA is essential for health, there are large inequalities between countries and world regions in their capacity to promote PA. Coordinated efforts are needed to reduce the inequalities and improve the global capacity for PA promotion

Sport-for-Development and (Partnerships with) the Health Sector: Reflections from the Pacific Islands

In this chapter, we are using the Oceania Football Confederation’s Just Play program as a backdrop to establishing a holistic healthy lifestyle approach to community development; one that aims to contribute to reducing the risk for developing NCDs by providing the nexus between sport, health, socio-cultural development and policymaking. Based on our reflections, we also provide practical recommendations and linkage development opportunities for other healthy lifestyle projects that aim to make a positive difference in the Pacific and elsewhere in the world

South Pacific: Fostering healthy lifestyles

In this chapter, we look back at the achievements and limitations of a number of significant sport-for-development (SFD) initiatives in the Pacific Islands that have been staged in this culturally diverse and geographically remote area. We reflect on the lessons learnt and discuss these in the context of the SFD Healthy Lifestyle Quadrant – an inclusive framework that combines sport, health, socio-cultural development and policy-making (see Schulenkorf and Siefken, 2019)

Die Toronto-Charta für Bewegung

The World Health Organization and other international health promotion organisations and agencies have recognised physical inactivity as a major health risk factor. However, physical inactivity still receives less attention than other risk factors for non-communicable diseases (e.g. tobacco use, unhealthy diets and overweight). Therefore, in 2009 the Council for Global Advocacy for Physical Activity (GAPA) of the International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) initiated the development of the first Charter for Physical Activity as a global call for action. The Charter was presented at the International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health in Toronto, Canada, in May 2010. A strategic implementation of the Charter fosters intersectoral collaboration and can significantly contribute to increasing the prevalence of a population-wide active lifestyle

Inspiring Pacific Women for Lifestyle Change: An Attempt to Halt the Spread of Chronic Diseases

This chapter intends to acquaint the reader with the challenges and recent successes of managing health promotion programmes in Pacific Island Communities. In particular, it reports on programme logistics, on-site issues, opportunities and challenges for health promotion programme sustainability, limitations and success stories. The research-based lifestyle change programme Wokabaot Jalens (Bislama term for ‘walking challenge’), which was implemented in Vanuatu, serves as an example to describe our hands-on experiences; Wokabaot Jalens engages urban Ni-Vanuatu women in regular exercises and encourages healthy eating behaviour. Examples and experiences from neighbouring Pacific island countries are drawn upon to accentuate challenges and opportunities for health promotion programmes in this region. The presentation of this reflective praxis exercise is intended to aid future practitioners and/or researchers in programme design, management and evaluation

Process evaluation of a walking programme delivered through the workplace in the South Pacific island Vanuatu

© The Author(s) 2014. Background: The South Pacific region is experiencing significant rates of chronic diseases. Well-evaluated health promotion programmes are needed as a central piece of a strategic solution. Just as important as the evaluation itself is how that evaluation outcome can be communicated for future programme use by local programme planners. The objective of this study is to evaluate a physical activity (PA) programme that was designed for Pacific women in urban Vanuatu, and subsequently to develop new techniques to display data that support the understanding and communication of programme success and challenges. Methods: Data collection methods included quantitative Likert scale questions and qualitative openended questions. A new analysis technique visualises open-ended process evaluation data. We present themes using word sizes proportional to the frequency of the themes identified through thematic analysis. Results: The Likert scale technique revealed little meaningful information; almost all participants rated most elements of the programme highly. This may be related to Pacific people being frequently inclined to assent with external ideas. Open-ended questions provided more significant insights. For example, we found a stronger change in eating habits (68.9%) than in exercise behaviour (28.2%). Conclusion: We present an evaluation of the first pedometer-based PA intervention in the Pacific and respond to the paucity of process evaluations that have been carried out in the context of low-and middle-income countries. Moreover, the new thematic data visualisation (TDV) approach may aid in understanding complex and cluttered data in a constructive and coordinated way; we present a new approach in health promotion research