In October 2008, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) launched the first-ever Physical  Activity Guidelines. Since then, HHS has built a network of Guidelines Supporters - in other words a group of over 3,200 entities that are committed to promoting the Guidelines across their stakeholders and constituencies. We call this the Be Active Your Way Supporter Network.

We are now launching the Be Active Your Way Blog as a way to:

1. Increase information sharing across the Supporter Network about successful strategies used to promote the guidelines within communities across the U.S.
2. Offer up a forum to discuss physical activity promotion issues.
3. Encourage collaboration efforts across organizations and disciplines to increase the proportion of individuals who adhere to the Guidelines.

In true collaborative fashion, we’ve organized the blog to primarily include contributions from a core set of Supporter organizations. Each Wednesday, one of our Contributing Bloggers will write about an initiative or experience they’ve had in promoting physical activity. We encourage you to submit your comments and add to the discussion. (See the Comments Policy). After 3 months of posting and receiving your comments, we will assess whether the blog is meeting the needs of our readers, and then revise as needed.

Next week we'll hear from our first Contributing Blogger, Jim Kauffman, National Director for Health and Well-being for the YMCA of the USA.

We look forward to learning with you in this new endeavor! If you would like to participate as a Guest Blogger, feel free to email us at PhysicalActivityGuidelines@hhs.gov for more details.