Built Environment Associations With Health Behaviors Among Hispanics

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Fields ◽  
Andrew T. Kaczynski ◽  
Melissa Bopp ◽  
Elizabeth Fallon

Background:Few studies of the built environment and physical activity or other health behaviors have examined minority populations specifically. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between the built environment and multiple health behaviors and outcomes among Hispanic adults.Methods:Community partners distributed surveys (n = 189) in 3 communities in southwest Kansas. Logistic regression was used to examine relationships between neighborhood perceptions and 4 outcomes.Results:Meeting physical activity recommendations was associated with the presence of sidewalks and a safe park, and inversely related to higher crime. Residential density and shops nearby were related to active commuting. Sedentary behavior was inversely related to having a bus stop, bike facilities, safe park, interesting things to look at, and seeing people active. Finally, seeing people active was positively associated with being overweight.Conclusions:This study suggests that among Hispanics, many built environment variables are related to health behaviors and should be targets for future neighborhood change efforts and research.

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip J. Troped ◽  
Heather A. Starnes ◽  
Robin C. Puett ◽  
Kosuke Tamura ◽  
Ellen K. Cromley ◽  
...  

There are few studies of built environment associations with physical activity and weight status among older women in large geographic areas that use individual residential buffers to define environmental exposures. Among 23,434 women (70.0 ± 6.9 yr; range = 57–85) in 3 states, relationships between objective built environment variables and meeting physical activity recommendations via walking and weight status were examined. Differences in associations by population density and state were explored in stratified models. Population density (odds ratio [OR] =1.04 [1.02, 1.07]), intersection density (ORs = 1.18–1.28), and facility density (ORs = 1.01–1.53) were positively associated with walking. Density of physical activity facilities was inversely associated with overweight/obesity (OR = 0.69 [0.49, 0.96]). The strongest associations between facility density variables and both outcomes were found among women from higher population density areas. There was no clear pattern of differences in associations across states. Among older women, relationships between accessible facilities and walking may be most important in more densely populated settings.


Author(s):  
Regina Grazuleviciene ◽  
Sandra Andrusaityte ◽  
Audrius Dėdelė ◽  
Tomas Grazulevicius ◽  
Leonas Valius ◽  
...  

Few studies have examined the relation between urban built environment and the prevalence of hypertension. This cross-sectional study aimed at assessing the relationship between the environmental quality, physical activity, and stress on hypertension among citizens of Kaunas city, Lithuania. We conducted a survey of 1086 citizens residing in 11 districts to determine their perceptions of environmental quality, health behavior, and health indices. The independent variables included residential traffic flows, access to public transportation and green spaces. Dependent variables included physician-diagnosed hypertension, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and stress level. We used multivariable logistic regression to assess the associations as odds ratios (OR). The environmental factors beneficially associated with meeting the physical activity recommendations were opportunities for walking to reach the city’s green spaces and available relaxation areas. Residents of high noise level districts aged 45–64 years had a significantly higher OR of stress and a higher prevalence of hypertension when age, sex, education status, family status, and smoking were accounted for. However, meeting the physical activity recommendations had a beneficial effect on the risk of hypertension. This study provided evidence that improvement of the district-level built environment supporting citizens’ physical activity might reduce the risk of hypertension.


Author(s):  
Pooja S. Tandon ◽  
Emily Kroshus ◽  
Katharine Olsen ◽  
Kimberly Garrett ◽  
Pingping Qu ◽  
...  

Access to opportunities for physical activity and sports, and therefore potential benefits of participation, are distributed inequitably. The aims of this study were to describe and compare youth experiences related to sport and physical activity by socioeconomic factors. A cross-sectional survey was conducted of students in 5–12th grades in King County, Washington, USA. Students were asked about physical activity and sports experiences and about demographic factors including family affluence, which was categorized as low, medium, and high. Participants were 1038 youth (50% girls, 58% non-White, and 32% from homes where languages other than English are spoken). Children from low-affluence families reported fewer days/week of physical activity, fewer sports sampled, and lower rates of ever playing sports. Greater proportions of children from low-affluence families reported these barriers to sports: (1) don’t want to get hurt, (2) don’t feel welcome on teams, (3) too expensive, and (4) transportation. Middle school children from high-affluence families had three times higher odds of meeting physical activity recommendations, and high-affluence high schoolers had three times higher odds of ever participating in sports compared to peers from low-affluence families. Socioeconomic status was inversely associated with outcomes related to youth physical activity and sports participation. The disproportionately reported barriers to sports participation are modifiable, and cross-sector solutions can help promote play equity.


2020 ◽  
pp. 135910532097765
Author(s):  
Jennifer J. Salinas ◽  
Roy Valenzuela ◽  
Jon Sheen ◽  
Malcolm Carlyle ◽  
Jennifer Gay ◽  
...  

Most Mexican-Americans do not meet current physical activity recommendations. This paper uses the ORBIT model of obesity intervention development as a framework to outline the process of establishing three employer-based walking challenges in El Paso, Texas, a predominantly Mexican American community. The walking challenges were planned and implemented through the Border Coalition for Fitness and participating partnering organizations. Over 2000 participants and several employers took part in the walking challenges. Results from this ORBIT Phase 1 design intervention suggest that walking challenges are a feasible approach to increase physical activity in Mexican-Americans.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Tong ◽  
Elizabeth Morris ◽  
Susan A. Jebb ◽  
Dimitrios A. Koutoukidis

Abstract Background Many people with obesity receive weight loss consultations by general practice nurses (GPNs) in routine primary care. This exploratory study aimed to characterise the components of these consultations, including behaviour change techniques (BCTs), and dietary and physical activity recommendations. Methods We analysed audio recordings of weight management consultations conducted by 8 GPNs as part of the ‘usual care’ group in a randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN75092026). Consultations were coded against three taxonomies to classify BCTs, dietary recommendations, and physical activity recommendations. Associations between coded content and weight loss were assessed. Differences in the content of consultations where weight loss was < 5% or ≥ 5% from baseline weight at 6 months were explored. Results One hundred and fifty audio recordings were available from 53 out of 140 (38%) participants in the usual care group. Participants had on average 3 (SD = 1) recorded consultations over 3 months, lasting 14 (SD = 7) minutes each. Weight change at 3, 6, and 12 months was -3.6% (SD = 4.3), -5.5% (SD = 6.0) and -4.2% (SD = 6.5) for participants with audio recordings. GPNs used 3.9 (SD = 1.6) of 93 BCTs, 3.3 (SD = 2.7) of 30 dietary recommendations and 1.4 (SD = 1.2) of 10 physical activity recommendations per consultation. The most commonly employed BCTs were feedback on outcome of behaviour (80.0%), problem solving (38.0%), and social reward (34.3%). The most common dietary recommendations were about portion size (31.3%), nutrients (28.0%), and balanced diet (19.7%). The main physical activity recommendation was about walking (30.3%). There was no association between weight loss and the number of dietary recommendations, physical activity recommendations, or BCTs used per consultation, or per participant. Social reward was the only technique used significantly more in consultations of participants that lost ≥ 5% of their baseline weight at 6 months. Conclusions The study provides a new method that could be used to describe the content of weight management consultations. Specific dietary or physical activity recommendations and BCTs were used infrequently and inconsistently in this group of GPNs. Although replication is required in larger samples, this may point to a weakness in current practice.


Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Sara Lahuerta-Contell ◽  
Javier Molina-García ◽  
Ana Queralt ◽  
Vladimir E. Martínez-Bello

Research on physical activity (PA) in different educational settings could elucidate which interventions promote a healthy school lifestyle in early childhood education (ECE). The aims of this study were: (a) to analyse the PA levels of preschoolers during school hours, as well as the rate of compliance with specific recommendations on total PA (TPA) and moderate-vigorous PA (MVPA); (b) to examine the role of structured movement sessions and recess time in the MVPA levels during school hours; (c) to evaluate the sociodemographic correlates of preschoolers and the school environment on MVPA behaviour during school hours. PA was evaluated with Actigraph accelerometers. Our main findings were that: (a) preschoolers engaged in very little TPA and MVPA during school hours; (b) children showed significantly higher MVPA levels on days with versus without structured movement sessions, and the contribution of the structured sessions to MVPA was significantly higher than that of recess time; (c) gender and age were associated with PA, and a high density of young children on the playground was associated with high levels of vigorous PA, whereas in the classroom, high density was associated with more sedentary behaviour. Structured PA could reduce the gap in achieving international recommendations.


Author(s):  
Karel Frömel ◽  
Jana Vašíčková ◽  
Krzysztof Skalik ◽  
Zbyněk Svozil ◽  
Dorota Groffik ◽  
...  

The current social, health, and educational changes in society require an adequate response in school-based physical activity (PA), including physical education (PE) lessons. The objective of this study was to identify the real average step counts of Czech and Polish adolescents during PE lessons, and propose recommendations for improving PE programs. This research was carried out in 143 Czech and 99 Polish schools. In the research, a total of 4911 adolescents aged 12–18 years were analyzed as part of teaching practice and 1827 in the context of habitual school practice. Steps were monitored using pedometers. The average step count per PE lesson was 2390 in Czech and Polish boys, while girls achieved 1851 steps. In both countries, boys were subject to greater physical strain in PE lessons compared to girls, both in teaching practice (F(4088,3) = 154.49, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.102) and school practice (F(1552,3) = 70.66, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.103). Therefore, the priority in PE lessons is to increase the amount of PA for girls, achieve the objectives of PE during PA, and use wearables to improve awareness of PA and improve physical literacy, as well as to support hybrid and online PE as a complement to traditional PE.


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