Life Stage and Sex Specificity in Relationships between the Built and Socioeconomic Environments and Physical Activity
Journal Article
Boone-Heinonen, Janne
Gordon-Larsen, Penny
2011
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
65
10
847-52
20101007
10.1136/jech.2009.105064
PMC3059385
4753
Background: In the largely cross-sectional literature, built environment characteristics such as walkability and recreation centres are variably related to physical activity. Subgroup-specific effects could help explain inconsistent findings, yet few studies have compared built environment associations by key characteristics such as sex or life stage. Methods: Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (wave I 1994–5, wave III 2001–2; n=12,701) and a linked geographic information system, cross-sectional relationships between moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) bouts and built and socioeconomic environment measures were estimated. Negative binomial generalised estimating equation regression modelled MVPA as a function of log-transformed environment measures, controlling for individual sociodemographics and testing for interactions with sex and life stage (waves I and III, when respondents were adolescents and young adults, respectively). Results: Higher landscape diversity (coefficient 0.040; 95% CI 0.019 to 0.062) and lower crime (coefficient −0.047; 95% CI −0.071 to −0.022) were related to greater weekly MVPA regardless of sex or life stage. Higher street connectivity was marginally related to lower MVPA (coefficient −0.176; 95% CI −0.357 to 0.005) in females but not males. Pay facilities and public facilities per 10,000 population and median household income were unrelated to MVPA. Conclusions: Similar relationships between higher MVPA and higher landscape diversity and lower crime rate across sex and life stage suggest that application of these environment features may benefit broad populations. Sex-specific associations for street connectivity may partly account for the variation in findings across studies and have implications for targeting physical activity promotion strategies.
Place, Space, and Health
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