Association between Physical Activity and Neighborhood Environment among Middle-Aged Adults in Shanghai

Objective. To determine the perceived neighborhood environment (NE) variables that are associated with physical activity (PA) in urban areas in China. Methods. Parents of students at two junior high schools in Shanghai, one downtown and the other in the suburbs, were recruited to participate in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Environmental and Public Health 2013-01, Vol.2013 (2013), p.112-118
Main Authors: Li, Yang, Ding, Yongming, Zhou, Rena, Fu, Hua, Comber, Alexis, Jiang, Hongwei, Umezaki, Masahiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age
Behavior
China
Cities
Cross-Sectional Studies
Environment
Environment Design
Environmental aspects
Environmental health
Exercise
Female
Health aspects
Humans
Land use
Leisure
Male
Middle Aged
Middle aged persons
Motor Activity
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Neighborhood
Neighborhoods
Parents & parenting
Population Density
Public health
Questionnaires
Remote sensing
Residence Characteristics
Safety
Sex Characteristics
Studies
Surveys and Questionnaires
Traffic accidents & safety
Transportation
Trends
Walking
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Summary:Objective. To determine the perceived neighborhood environment (NE) variables that are associated with physical activity (PA) in urban areas in China. Methods. Parents of students at two junior high schools in Shanghai, one downtown and the other in the suburbs, were recruited to participate in the study. They completed an International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale-Abbreviated (NEWS-A) survey. Participant physical activity was also objectively measured using accelerometers. Results. Participants from downtown areas were more positively associated with transportation PA and leisure-time PA than respondents living in the suburbs. Residential density was found to be a significant positive predictor of recreational or leisure-based PA. Street connectivity was negatively associated with leisure time PA for respondents. Moderate-vigorous PA was found to be negatively associated with traffic safety. There were no significant associations between environmental factors and transportation PA. Women had higher levels of moderate-vigorous PA than men. Conclusions. The results of this study demonstrate that residential density, street connectivity, and traffic safety have a significant impact on Chinese middle-aged adults' PA, suggesting urban planning strategies for promoting positive public health outcomes.
ISSN:1687-9805
1687-9813
DOI:10.1155/2013/239595