Background Physical activity is important to children’s physical health and well-being. Many factors contribute to children’s physical activity, and the built environment has garnered considerable interest recently, as many young children spend much of their time in and around their immediate neighborhood. Few studies have identified correlates of children’s activity in specific locations. This study examined associations between parent report of their home neighborhood environment and children’s overall and location-specific physical activity. Methods Parents and children ages 6 to 11 (n=724), living in neighborhoods identified through objective built environment factors as high or low in physical activity environments, were recruited from Seattle and San Diego metropolitan areas, 2007–2009. Parents completed a survey about their child’s activity and perceptions of home neighborhood environmental attributes. Children wore an accelerometer for 7 days. Multivariate regression models explored perceived environment correlates of parent-reported child’s recreational physical activity in their neighborhood, in parks, and in general, as well as accelerometry-based moderate-to-vigorous activity (MVPA) minutes. Results Parent-reported proximity to play areas correlated positively with both accelerometery MVPA and parent-reported total child physical activity. Lower street connectivity and higher neighborhood aesthetics correlated with higher reported child activity in the neighborhood, while reported safety from crime and walk and cycle facilities correlated positively with reported child activity in public recreation spaces. Conclusions Different aspects of parent’s perceptions of the neighborhood environment appear to correlate with different aspects of children’s activity. However, prioritizing closer proximity to safe play areas may best improve children’s physical activity and, in turn, reduce their risk of obesity and associated chronic diseases.
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Background: Little evidence exists about the effectiveness of "interactive" computer-tailored interventions and about the combined effectiveness of tailored interventions on physical activity and diet. Furthermore, it is unknown whether they should be executed sequentially or simultaneously. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the effectiveness of interactive computer-tailored interventions for increasing physical activity and decreasing fat intake and (b) which intervening mode, sequential or simultaneous, is most effective in behavior change. Methods: Participants (N = 771) were randomly assigned to receive (a) the physical activity and fat intake interventions simultaneously at baseline, (b) the physical activity intervention at baseline and the fat intake intervention 3 months later, (c) the fat intake intervention at baseline and the physical activity intervention 3 months later, or (d) a place in the control group. Results: Six months postbaseline, the results showed that the tailored interventions produced significantly higher physical activity scores, F(2, 573) = 11.4, p < .001, and lower fat intake scores, F(2, 565) = 31.4, p < .001, in the experimental groups when compared to the control group. Conclusions: For both behaviors, the sequential and simultaneous intervening modes showed to be effective; however, for the fat intake intervention and for the participants who did not meet the recommendation in the physical activity intervention, the simultaneous mode appeared to work better than the sequential mode.
Introduction Physical activity before COVID-19 infection is associated with less severe outcomes. The study determined whether a dose‒response association was observed and whether the associations were consistent across demographic subgroups and chronic conditions. Methods A retrospective cohort study of Kaiser Permanente Southern California adult patients who had a positive COVID-19 diagnosis between January 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021 was created. The exposure was the median of at least 3 physical activity self-reports before diagnosis. Patients were categorized as follows: always inactive, all assessments at 10 minutes/week or less; mostly inactive, median of 0–60 minutes per week; some activity, median of 60–150 minutes per week; consistently active, median>150 minutes per week; and always active, all assessments>150 minutes per week. Outcomes were hospitalization, deterioration event, or death 90 days after a COVID-19 diagnosis. Data were analyzed in 2022. Results Of 194,191 adults with COVID-19 infection, 6.3% were hospitalized, 3.1% experienced a deterioration event, and 2.8% died within 90 days. Dose‒response effects were strong; for example, patients in the some activity category had higher odds of hospitalization (OR=1.43; 95% CI=1.26, 1.63), deterioration (OR=1.83; 95% CI=1.49, 2.25), and death (OR=1.92; 95% CI=1.48, 2.49) than those in the always active category. Results were generally consistent across sex, race and ethnicity, age, and BMI categories and for patients with cardiovascular disease or hypertension. Conclusions There were protective associations of physical activity for adverse COVID-19 outcomes across demographic and clinical characteristics. Public health leaders should add physical activity to pandemic control strategies.
Background. Schools provide settings for physical activity (PA), but objective tools for measuring PA are lacking. We assessed an instrument to directly observe group PA and measured the leisure-time PA of adolescents throughout the school day. Methods. Leisure-time PA was studied by direct observation in 24 middle schools in Southern California using SOPLAY (System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth). SOPLAY uses momentary time sampling to record the activity of each individual as sedentary, walking, or very active. Results. The largest proportion of students visited activity areas at lunch time (19.5%), followed by before (4.1%) and after school (2.1%). More boys than girls visited activity areas before school (33.4 vs 7.7) and at lunch time (148.8 vs 36.7). Boys in areas engaged in more moderate to vigorous PA than girls before school (59.6 vs 40%) and at lunch time (67.7 vs 51.7%). Conclusions. Few students use opportunities to be physically active during lesiure time at school. Policies and environmental manipulations (e.g., supervision, equipment, structured programs) are needed to attract more adolescents, especially girls, to existing activity areas. The feasibility of SOPLAY for measuring group PA was established.
This study was designed to identify correlates of change in walking for exercise. Respondents to a random sample mailed exercise survey were asked to complete a follow-up questionnaire 24 months after the first. Responses were obtained from 1,739 adults, reflecting an 86.6% return rate. Nonrespondents did not differ from respondents for baseline level of walking for exercise. Respondents overrepresented Caucasian and middle to high education (or income) adults. Residualized measures of change in walking for exercise served as the dependent variable, adjusted for baseline walking. Similarly, key independent variables, subject to change over time, were included after residualization. At both baseline and 24 months follow-up, adults walked for exercise an average of just under 1 hour per week, and 23.5% of the initially active adults ceased walking for exercise at 2 years. Multiple regression analyses explained more variance in walking for exercise among women than men. Change in dynamic variables such as friend's support and vigorous physical activity accounted for most of the explained variance. Results suggest that dynamic variables may need to be sustained to maintain walking for exercise. The limited explained variance suggests that more precise measures and additional determinants of walking for exercise need to be identified. Key Words: physical activityexercisewalkinglearning theorysocial support
