HEP 452 Module 3 Assignment Advocacy Action Plan

Developing a cycling culture in the community can be crucial in helping individuals maintain their physical fitness, prevent the onset of cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension as well as prevention of certain kinds of cancer. According to research, there is a 45% reduced risk of developing cancer as well as a 46% risk of developing cardiovascular diseases for individuals participating in cycling compared to those who use trains and cars for transport (Münzel et al., 2021). Cycling for at least 20 miles a week on a bike can help in maintaining the physical fitness of a person, including the reduction by half of the risk for coronary heart diseases as well as the chances of being obese. Obesity in the United States has been a major problem, and according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 36.9% of the adults aged 20 and above were obese in 2016, with the prevalence of obesity increasing in 2018 to 42.2% (Araújo, Cai & Stevens, 2019). Based on this, it is evident that lack of physical activity has proven to be a major challenge in the United States, a culture that has proven to have conveyed to children as the parents encourage their children to take buses or being dropped to school, a culture that limits their ability to engage in physical activities.

While there may be other ways that children and adults can engage in to help maintain their physical fitness, including gym subscriptions, it has become inherently difficult to keep track as most subscribers have less time to attend gym and yoga classes. With people working more than one job, adding another commitment to the list can be tiring, and this makes it not effective for individuals to attend physical exercise classes. However, cycling on the other hand has a major advantage, in that it can be used as a means of transport for both students to school and adults to help commute to work. Using a bicycle may not seem like an extra commitment as it is used as a means to commute and can be used by workers to transit from one job to another (Emre & De Spiegeleare, 2021). During this time, an individual cannot realize that they are engaged in physical exercises, which will ultimately have a positive impact on their physical fitness and as well boost their immunity. With all these benefits resulting from cycling, it becomes imperative that action need to be taken, to create awareness to people that they can adopt a more health-inclined means of commuting to work especially those that do not have to travel miles to reach their destinations.

Developing an advocacy plan aimed at creating awareness on the importance of cycling as a means to help maintain healthy bodies can help change the perception of many, compelling them to change their means of transport, in which they can opt to cycle to work rather than take a train or private transport. There are two main ways that can be used to help broadcast the message to the target populations including conducting a public demonstration and digital advocacy. However, based on the need to reach as many people as possible, using the digital advocacy platform can be more effective than public demonstrations (Johansson & Scaramuzzino, 2019). Public demonstration involves staging random meetings with individuals marching with placards and posters aimed at enlightening the masses. However, this kind of advocacy is time-consuming and may require a lot of resources to implement and since it cannot reach a large population with a single demonstration, it is therefore not effective. This leaves digital advocacy as the main approach to creating awareness through the use of social media as the main platform. The 21st century has been characterized by the digital revolution with almost everyone owning a smartphone or a computer (Dexeus, 2019). Each of these owners has a social media platform either Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or a YouTube account. Targeting these platforms to help get my message to the target population can be effective as it can reach many people not only within my neighborhood but across the nation and across the country’s borders. Based on this, in terms of coverage, digital advocacy is more efficient and effective to use as it has fewer costs of planning and implementation.

To help reach many people, I will create a video of me or my friends engaging in exercise, including commuting to work while cycling detailing how it is efficient and effective to cycle to work, and demonstrating the ultimate goal of maintaining physical fitness. In this case, I can record my weight at the beginning of the exercise and do the same at the end of the month. This duration can be enough to convince individuals that cycling can actually help shed some weight, helping individuals keep healthy while at the same time keeping their work commitments. After recording a series of videos, I can post them on the various social media platforms; YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as well as use Tiktok to create a challenge where like-minded individuals can record themselves commuting to work while cycling to encourage others to take a similar course. The primary goal in this advocacy is to get as many people to engage in physical activity, especially cycling as it will not hinder their plans in any way while at the same time enjoying their time while maintaining their physical fitness. I believe this advocacy plan will work marvelously in that it will help participants shed some weight by burning excess calories, and thus, reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and even have a desirable body shape that others can envy. Developing a culture of cycling will be the beginning of creating a healthy community.

References

Araújo, J., Cai, J., & Stevens, J. (2019). Prevalence of optimal metabolic health in American adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009–2016. Metabolic syndrome and related disorders, 17(1), 46-52.

Dexeus, C. R. (2019). The deepening effects of the digital revolution. In The Future of Tourism (pp. 43-69). Springer, Cham.

Emre, O., & De Spiegeleare, S. (2021). The role of work–life balance and autonomy in the relationship between commuting, employee commitment and well-being. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32(11), 2443-2467.

Johansson, H., & Scaramuzzino, G. (2019). The logics of digital advocacy: Between acts of political influence and presence. New media & society, 21(7), 1528-1545.

Münzel, T., Hahad, O., Sørensen, M., Lelieveld, J., Duerr, G. D., Nieuwenhuijsen, M., & Daiber, A. (2021). Environmental risk factors and cardiovascular diseases: a comprehensive expert review. Cardiovascular Research.