Uses of research evidence in the state legislative process to promote active environments in Minnesota

Purpose. To describe how research evidence and non-research-based information are used in testimony and other legislative documents used in arguments for and against physical activity-related bills in Minnesota. Design. Content analysis Setting: Documents and oral testimony archived by the Minnesota State Legislature from 2007 to 2011. Subjects. Not applicable. Measures. A coding instrument was developed to measure descriptive features of materials (e.g., length, document type) and the presence or absence of certain types of research evidence and non-research-based information. Analysis. Frequencies of variables and measures of associations using Pearson χ² tests. Results. Over a third (36%) of the sample contained research evidence, and 88% of the sample contained non-research-based information. Compared to materials related to physical activity, materials related to built environment were significantly less likely to reference research evidence. Conclusion: Despite an abundance of evidence, research evidence was present in only about one-third of the sample. There may be opportunities during legislative discussions on the built environment for obesity-related data to help make the case for sound policies.