Associations of the perceived and objective neighborhood environment with physical activity and sedentary time in New Zealand adolescents

Abstract Background There is accumulating evidence supporting the association between neighborhood built environments and adults’ physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST); however, few studies have investigated these associations in adolescents. A better understanding of the features of the bu...

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Main Authors: Erica Hinckson, Ester Cerin, Suzanne Mavoa, Melody Smith, Hannah Badland, Tom Stewart, Scott Duncan, Grant Schofield
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2017-10-01
Series:International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12966-017-0597-5
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spelling doaj-df5b87db2d374b5a8acd7c15b5ce1af32020-11-24T20:42:45ZengBMCInternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity1479-58682017-10-0114111510.1186/s12966-017-0597-5Associations of the perceived and objective neighborhood environment with physical activity and sedentary time in New Zealand adolescentsErica Hinckson0Ester Cerin1Suzanne Mavoa2Melody Smith3Hannah Badland4Tom Stewart5Scott Duncan6Grant Schofield7Auckland University of Technology, Human Potential CentreInstitute for Health and Ageing, Australian Catholic UniversityMelbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of MelbourneSchool of Nursing, The University of AucklandCentre for Urban Research, RMIT UniversityAuckland University of Technology, Human Potential CentreAuckland University of Technology, Human Potential CentreAuckland University of Technology, Human Potential CentreAbstract Background There is accumulating evidence supporting the association between neighborhood built environments and adults’ physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST); however, few studies have investigated these associations in adolescents. A better understanding of the features of the built environment that encourage PA or ST is therefore of critical importance to promote health and wellbeing in adolescents. The aim of this study was to estimate the associations of GIS-determined and perceived walkability components in individual residential buffer zones with accelerometer-assessed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and ST in adolescents. Methods The Built Environment in Adolescent New Zealanders (BEANZ) study was conducted in two cities (Auckland and Wellington) during the 2013-2014 academic school years. The exposure measures were subjective and objective environmental indices of activity-friendliness using four residential buffers. Road network buffers were calculated around participant’s residential addresses using the sausage buffer approach at 250 m, 500 m, 1 km, and 2 km scales. A 25 m radius was used for the buffers. Data were analysed using Generalized Additive Mixed Models in R. Results Data were analysed from 524 participants (15.78 ± 1.62 years; 45% male). Participants accumulated ~114 min/day of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and ~354 min/day of ST during accelerometer wear-time (~828 min/day). The estimated difference in MVPA between participants with the 1st and 3rd quartiles observed values on the composite subjective environmental index of activity-friendliness (perceived land use mix - diversity, street connectivity and aesthetics) was equivalent to ~8 min/day (~56 MVPA min/week) and for the objective environmental index of activity-friendliness (gross residential density and number of parks within 2 km distance from home) was ~6 min of MVPA/day (~45 MVPA min/week). When both indices were entered in a main-effect model, both indices remained significantly correlated with MVPA with sex as a moderator. The predicted difference in sedentary time between those with the minimum and maximum observed values on the subjective index of non-sedentariness was ~20 min/day. Conclusions The combined assessment of the main effects of subjective and objective indices of activity-friendliness on NZ adolescents’ PA and ST showed positive relationships with MVPA for the subjective index only. The subjective index was a significant correlate of PA in both girls and boys, while the objective index was significant only in boys when sex was entered as a moderator. Further research is warranted to understand the relationships of ST with the built environment.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12966-017-0597-5AccelerometerActivity friendlyUrban environmentYouth
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Erica Hinckson
Ester Cerin
Suzanne Mavoa
Melody Smith
Hannah Badland
Tom Stewart
Scott Duncan
Grant Schofield
spellingShingle Erica Hinckson
Ester Cerin
Suzanne Mavoa
Melody Smith
Hannah Badland
Tom Stewart
Scott Duncan
Grant Schofield
Associations of the perceived and objective neighborhood environment with physical activity and sedentary time in New Zealand adolescents
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
Accelerometer
Activity friendly
Urban environment
Youth
author_facet Erica Hinckson
Ester Cerin
Suzanne Mavoa
Melody Smith
Hannah Badland
Tom Stewart
Scott Duncan
Grant Schofield
author_sort Erica Hinckson
title Associations of the perceived and objective neighborhood environment with physical activity and sedentary time in New Zealand adolescents
title_short Associations of the perceived and objective neighborhood environment with physical activity and sedentary time in New Zealand adolescents
title_full Associations of the perceived and objective neighborhood environment with physical activity and sedentary time in New Zealand adolescents
title_fullStr Associations of the perceived and objective neighborhood environment with physical activity and sedentary time in New Zealand adolescents
title_full_unstemmed Associations of the perceived and objective neighborhood environment with physical activity and sedentary time in New Zealand adolescents
title_sort associations of the perceived and objective neighborhood environment with physical activity and sedentary time in new zealand adolescents
publisher BMC
series International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
issn 1479-5868
publishDate 2017-10-01
description Abstract Background There is accumulating evidence supporting the association between neighborhood built environments and adults’ physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST); however, few studies have investigated these associations in adolescents. A better understanding of the features of the built environment that encourage PA or ST is therefore of critical importance to promote health and wellbeing in adolescents. The aim of this study was to estimate the associations of GIS-determined and perceived walkability components in individual residential buffer zones with accelerometer-assessed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and ST in adolescents. Methods The Built Environment in Adolescent New Zealanders (BEANZ) study was conducted in two cities (Auckland and Wellington) during the 2013-2014 academic school years. The exposure measures were subjective and objective environmental indices of activity-friendliness using four residential buffers. Road network buffers were calculated around participant’s residential addresses using the sausage buffer approach at 250 m, 500 m, 1 km, and 2 km scales. A 25 m radius was used for the buffers. Data were analysed using Generalized Additive Mixed Models in R. Results Data were analysed from 524 participants (15.78 ± 1.62 years; 45% male). Participants accumulated ~114 min/day of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and ~354 min/day of ST during accelerometer wear-time (~828 min/day). The estimated difference in MVPA between participants with the 1st and 3rd quartiles observed values on the composite subjective environmental index of activity-friendliness (perceived land use mix - diversity, street connectivity and aesthetics) was equivalent to ~8 min/day (~56 MVPA min/week) and for the objective environmental index of activity-friendliness (gross residential density and number of parks within 2 km distance from home) was ~6 min of MVPA/day (~45 MVPA min/week). When both indices were entered in a main-effect model, both indices remained significantly correlated with MVPA with sex as a moderator. The predicted difference in sedentary time between those with the minimum and maximum observed values on the subjective index of non-sedentariness was ~20 min/day. Conclusions The combined assessment of the main effects of subjective and objective indices of activity-friendliness on NZ adolescents’ PA and ST showed positive relationships with MVPA for the subjective index only. The subjective index was a significant correlate of PA in both girls and boys, while the objective index was significant only in boys when sex was entered as a moderator. Further research is warranted to understand the relationships of ST with the built environment.
topic Accelerometer
Activity friendly
Urban environment
Youth
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12966-017-0597-5
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