Background: Active transportation is an affordable and accessible form of transportation that facilitates the mobility of older adults in their communities. Age-friendly cities encourage and support physical activity and social participation among older adults; however, they often do not adequately address active transportation. Our goal was to identify and understand the constraints to active transportation that older adults experience in order to inform the development of viable solutions. Methods: Focus group interviews were conducted with community dwelling older adults (n = 52) living in the City of Oshawa in Ontario, Canada; each focus group targeted a specific demographic to ensure a diverse range of perspectives were represented. Data were analyzed to identify themes; sub-group analyses were conducted to understand the experience of those from low socioeconomic status and culturally diverse groups. Results: Themes pertaining to environmental, individual, and task constraints, as well as their interactions, were identified. Of particular novelty, seemingly non-modifiable constraints (e.g., weather and personal health) interacted with modifiable constraints (e.g., urban design). Culturally diverse and lower socioeconomic groups had more favorable perspectives of their neighborhoods. Conclusion: While constraints to active transportation interact to exacerbate one another, there is an opportunity to minimize or remove constraints by implementing age-friendly policies and practices.

Associations of environmental variables with physical activity and sedentary time using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, and the Canadian Urban Environment Research Consortium (Canadian Active Living Environments (Can-ALE) dataset, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI, greenness) dataset) were assessed. The main outcome variables were physical activity and sedentary time as measured by a modified version of the Physical Activity for Elderly Scale. The sample consisted of adults aged 45 and older (n = 36,580, mean age 62.6±10.2, 51% female). Adjusted ordinal regression models consistently demonstrated that those residing in neighbourhoods in the highest Can-ALE category (most well-connected built environment) reported more physical activity and sedentary time. For example, males aged 75+ in the highest Can-ALE category had 1.9 times higher odds of reporting more physical activity (OR = 1.9, 95%CI = 1.1-3.4) and 1.8 higher odds of reporting more sedentary time (OR = 1.8, 95%CI = 1.0-3.4). Neighbourhoods with higher greenness scores were also associated with higher odds of reporting more physical activity and sedentary time. It appears that an environment characterized by higher Can-ALE and higher greenness may facilitate physical activity, but it also facilitates more leisure sedentary time in older adults; research using device measured total sedentary time, and consideration of the types of sedentary activities being performed is needed. Novelty: ●Middle-aged and older adults living in neighbourhoods with higher Can-ALE scores and more greenness report more physical activity and leisure sedentary time ●Greenness is important for physical activity and sedentary time in middle-aged adults

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It is well documented that sport participation is relatively low among adolescent girls due to various constraints. Though much knowledge exists on these constraints, there is a need to examine if and whether constraints interact to influence sport participation.The purpose of this study was to develop a survey instrument to facilitate the examination of interactions of constraints to sport participation among adolescent girls, and to verify the survey's validity. Two theoretical frameworks were combined to guide the survey development. Newell's model of constraints was used to categorize constraints, into environmental, individual and task constraints.The 40 Developmental Assets Profile was used to index the constraints into broader categories within each constraint type. In total, 51 constraints were sorted into the combined frameworks which developed an 81-question survey. An expert panel was consulted to review for construct and content validity. This study has contributed a new survey instrument to the literature on constraints to sport participation. When used in different locations globally, the survey has the potential to reveal the most salient constraints, as well as build capacity for research to better inform future interventions and promote further discussions regarding sport.

Sport participation during adolescence is associated with good physical and mental health as well as social connectedness and greater well-being. Importantly, adolescence is a key developmental period when lifelong habit and behavioral patterns are shaped and when the benefits of sport are particularly beneficial to physical and psychological development. However, in Canada and internationally, adolescent females are consistency less active than males during adolescent years, are typically underrepresented in sports, and tend to drop out at disproportionate rates compared with their male peers. This cross-sectional study (2017-2019) aimed to examine associations between sport participation and individual, environmental, and task constraints for 825 ethnically diverse adolescent girls aged 13-19 years. Guided by Newell’s model on sport participation, analysis included a series of unadjusted and adjusted binary logistic regression models in order to examine individual, environmental, and task constraints as predictors of sport participation, as well as potential interactions between significant constraints and their association with sport participation. In the adjusted multivariate analyses, significant constraints to sport participation included weather (environmental), development and age (individual), and physical intensity (task), with no significant interactions. Overall, findings suggest that various constraints, particularly at the individual level (developmental) affect sport participation among diverse female adolescents. Future research should integrate mixed-methods to ensure a comprehensive examination of potential interactions of constraints. This can enhance understanding of complex and interacting factors, which can be integrated to lead to effective interventions, programs and policies that support adolescent female sport participation.