I wanted to let you know about an upcoming report from the Office of the Surgeon General due to be released next week. Surgeon General Murthy will be launching a Call to Action on Promoting Walking and Walkable Communities on September 9^th at 10:00 a.m. ET. Details about how to watch the Webcast will be available on the Surgeon General’s website (http://www.surgeongeneral.gov) on the morning of September 9^th. If you could help us get the word out about the launch webcast to your colleagues and students via social media, listservs, etc. we would greatly appreciate it.

The Call to Action will highlight the significant health burden that exists in the U.S. today due to physical inactivity – contributing to more than 10% of the preventable mortality in America today. More specifically, it will make recommendations to a number of key sectors about critical actions they can take to improve community walkability and increase walking throughout the U.S..

I thought that – because of potential synergies between the Call to Action and priorities within your own organization – you, your colleagues, and your students might be interested in watching the launch and finding out more about the Call and ways that you all might help address this increasing health threat.

For more information about the larger effort, you can visit the Surgeon General’s website at: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/priorities/active-living or you can visit the website of the coalition that is forming to collaborate on efforts to increase walking and walkability at: EveryBody Walk Collaborative! (http://everybodywalk.org/). In addition you can contact Kate Kraft, the National Coalition Director, at [log in to unmask] for more information.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give us in getting the word out about the Call to Action, in general, and the opportunity to watch the launch ceremony on the 9^th, in particular.

Chris Kochtitzky, MSP

Associate Director for Program Development

CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health

Check out CDC’s Healthy Places Website: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces

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