Neighborhood Recreation Facilities and Facility Membership Are Jointly Associated with Objectively Measured Physical Activity

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Abstract

Efforts to increase physical activity have traditionally included either individual-level interventions (e.g., educational campaigns) or neighborhood-level interventions (e.g., additional recreational facilities). Little work has addressed the interaction between spatial proximity and individual characteristics related to facility use. We aimed to better understand the synergistic impact of both physical activity environments and recreational facility membership on objectively measured physical activity. Using the New York City Physical Activity and Transit (PAT) survey ( n = 644), we evaluated associations between counts of commercial physical activity facilities within 1 km of participants’ home addresses with both facility membership and accelerometry-measured physical activity. Individuals living near more facilities were more likely to report membership (adjusted odds ratio for top versus bottom quartile of facility count: 3.77 (95% CI 1.54–9.20). Additionally, while amount of facilities within a neighborhood was associated with more physical activity, this association was stronger for individuals reporting gym membership. Interventions aiming to increase physical activity should consider both neighborhood amenities and potential barriers, including the financial and social barriers of membership. Evaluation of neighborhood opportunities must expand beyond physical presence to consider multiple dimensions of accessibility. The online version of this article (10.1007/s11524-019-00357-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Environmental factors associated with adults' participation in physical activity: a review.

N Humpel (2002)

Promoting physical activity is a public health priority, and changes in the environmental contexts of adults' activity choices are believed to be crucial. However, of the factors associated with physical activity, environmental influences are among the least understood. Using journal scans and computerized literature database searches, we identified 19 quantitative studies that assessed the relationships with physical activity behavior of perceived and objectively determined physical environment attributes. Findings were categorized into those examining five categories: accessibility of facilities, opportunities for activity, weather, safety, and aesthetic attributes. Accessibility, opportunities, and aesthetic attributes had significant associations with physical activity. Weather and safety showed less-strong relationships. Where studies pooled different categories to create composite variables, the associations were less likely to be statistically significant. Physical environment factors have consistent associations with physical activity behavior. Further development of ecologic and environmental models, together with behavior-specific and context-specific measurement strategies, should help in further understanding of these associations. Prospective studies are required to identify possible causal relationships.

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Increasing walking: how important is distance to, attractiveness, and size of public open space?

Billie Giles-Corti, Melissa H. Broomhall, Matthew Knuiman … (2005)

Well-designed public open space (POS) that encourages physical activity is a community asset that could potentially contribute to the health of local residents. In 1995-1996, two studies were conducted-an environmental audit of POS over 2 acres (n =516) within a 408-km2 area of metropolitan Perth, Western Australia; and personal interviews with 1803 adults (aged 18 to 59 years) (52.9% response rate). The association between access to POS and physical activity was examined using three accessibility models that progressively adjusted for distance to POS, and its attractiveness and size. In 2002, an observational study examined the influence of attractiveness on the use of POS by observing users of three pairs of high- and low-quality (based on attractiveness) POS matched for size and location. Overall, 28.8% of respondents reported using POS for physical activity. The likelihood of using POS increased with increasing levels of access, but the effect was greater in the model that adjusted for distance, attractiveness, and size. After adjustment, those with very good access to large, attractive POS were 50% more likely to achieve high levels of walking (odds ratio, 1.50; 95% confidence level, 1.06-2.13). The observational study showed that after matching POS for size and location, 70% of POS users observed visited attractive POS. Access to attractive, large POS is associated with higher levels of walking. To increase walking, thoughtful design (and redesign) of POS is required that creates large, attractive POS with facilities that encourage active use by multiple users (e.g., walkers, sports participants, picnickers).

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Environmental and policy determinants of physical activity in the United States.

R Brownson, E A Baker, R A Housemann … (2001)

This study examined (1) descriptive patterns in perceived environmental and policy determinants of physical activity and (2) associations between these factors and behavior. A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1999 to 2000 among US adults; individuals at lower income levels were oversampled. Availability of areas for physical activity was generally higher among men than among women. The 4 most commonly reported personal barriers were lack of time, feeling too tired, obtaining enough exercise at one's job, and no motivation to exercise. Neighborhood characteristics, including the presence of sidewalks, enjoyable scenery, heavy traffic, and hills, were positively associated with physical activity. There was a high level of support for health policy-related measures. Up to one third of individuals who had used environmental supports reported an increase in physical activity. An array of environmental and policy determinants, particularly those related to the physical environment, are associated with physical activity and should be taken into account in the design of interventions.