Strategies

Match disadvantaged or at-risk youth with volunteer mentors in school or community settings

Help participants share transportation via informal arrangements between individuals, formally arranged ridesharing programs, or other ride-matching services

Support temporary programs that work to energize participants to lose weight via prizes, often combined with education, weight status and food intake tracking, regular check-ins, and group support

Build, strengthen, and maintain social networks that provide supportive relationships for behavior change through walking groups or other community-based interventions

Engage a variety of partners in a highly visible, multi-component effort to increase physical activity, often with efforts to address cardiovascular disease risk factors

Detect and intervene in potentially violent situations, educate and mobilize communities, and connect high-risk individuals to services; formerly called Chicago CeaseFire

Increase family members’ support for physical activity, often via educational sessions on health, goal-setting, problem-solving, or family behavioral management

Offer incentives such as free or discounted bus, rail, or transit passes, reimbursements, partial payments, or pre-tax payroll deductions to encourage individuals’ use of existing public transit

Teach behavioral skills that can help individuals incorporate physical activity into their daily routines

Pair youth at risk for delinquent behavior with mentors to develop relationships and spend time at regular meetings for an extended period; mentors have greater knowledge, skills, etc. than mentees