A new book from the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) APHA Press, "Physical Activity & Public Health: A Practitioner’s Guide,"explores how community organizers and public health workers can build successful programs that promote and sustain physical activity. The handbook discusses health benefits of regular exercise and infrastructure barriers to physical activity and highlights community programs with a track record of success.

Few Americans get enough physical activity, and many don’t eat a healthful diet. The winter holidays can be a great time to think about your goals for the year ahead. Follow these tips to jump start your resolutions, and be your healthiest self this holiday season.

Long-haul truck drivers routinely sleep away from home, spending long hours sitting behind the wheel. These drivers often depend on truck stops for the opportunity to sleep, stretch, get a meal, and visit the rest room. While most truck stops provide these basics, truck stops often lack exercise facilities, nutritious food, and healthcare, according to NIOSH research published in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

An average person has a stride length of approximately 2.1 to 2.5 feet. That means that it takes over 2,000 steps to walk one mile; and 10,000 steps would be almost 5 miles. A sedentary person may only average 1,000 to 3,000 steps a day.

Most Americans know – by now – that exercising is good for you. What many of us don’t know – according to a new study – is that not exercising can raise our risk of certain types of cancer, such as colon and breast.

This is National Public Health Week, when public health organizations from across the U.S. turn the focus on practices and policies that will help reverse the downturn in U.S. life expectancy, which has declined for two years in a row.

Ten thousand steps was first popularized by Japanese pedometers in the 1960s under the name "manpo-kei," which means "10,000 steps meter," according to UC Davis Integrative Medicine.

Although a recent report shows that adult obesity rates in the U.S. have remained steady in recent years – rather than continuing the upward trend seen for decades – rates are still too high, according to the American Heart Association (AHA) – and elected officials should take action on the issue.

While a majority of Americans place a high value on being physically fit, most don’t feel as if they are in good shape, according to a recent survey on fitness and health.

People who think they’re less active than others their age have a greater chance of dying younger than people who perceive themselves as more active, even if their actual activity levels are the same, according to research published by the American Psychological Association (APA).