Associations of social and environmental supports with sedentary behavior, light and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in obese underserved adolescents

Abstract

BackgroundEvidence to support differential health impacts of sedentary behavior (SB), light physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is building. However, few studies have examined individual, social, and environmental supports across the full range of sedentary and physical activities, including key influences such as self-efficacy, parenting factors, and home and neighborhood resources. This may be particularly important in underserved (low-income, minority), overweight/obese adolescents due to the social and environmental challenges (lack of resources, etc.) associated with increasing MVPA. This study evaluated a range of bioecological factors including individual (self-efficacy), parental (parental support, monitoring, limit-setting, and nurturance), and environmental (perceived home resources for PA and neighborhood support for PA) predictors of SB, LPA and MVPA in overweight/obese adolescents.MethodsOverweight/obese and predominantly minority adolescents and caregivers (n = 181) completed measures in 2010 in the US including surveys assessing self-efficacy for PA, parenting variables related to PA and home and neighborhood supports for PA. Outcomes included 7-day accelerometer estimates of SB, LPA, and MVPA.ResultsRegression analyses showed parental social support and neighborhood support were significantly associated with LPA. No significant associations were found for SB or MVPA.ConclusionsResults emphasized the importance of examining a range of sedentary and PA intensities and highlighted the role of parental and neighborhood social supports for LPA. These results have important implications that suggest that health promotion efforts should target social and environmental supports for increasing LPA in youth who are overweight/obese.

The Role of Built Environments on Children’s Sedentary Behavior: A Social Ecological Perspective

“…Parents indicate their children do not participate in active transportation to school because of one or more of the following reasons: (a) distance covered (i.e., too far for child to walk); (b) insufficient design (e.g., lack of sidewalks, minimal traffic signs); and/or (c) safety (i.e., traffic and personal) [7,9,26]. This is quite paradoxical in that as parents cite traffic hazards as a reason to drive their child(ren) to school, and by driving their child(ren) to school, they increase traffic volume near schools and the risk of accidents to children who elect to walk or bicycle to school [37].…”

“…A key environmental factor receiving research attention and thought to be associated with children's increased risk for obesity is neighborhood safety [7,9,26,39]. According to Lawman and Wilson [9], unsafe neighborhoods are thought to increase the risk of childhood obesity by limiting physical play outdoors and in turn, increasing time spent indoors and engaged in activities such as television viewing, videogame, and computer usage.…”

“…According to Lawman and Wilson [9], unsafe neighborhoods are thought to increase the risk of childhood obesity by limiting physical play outdoors and in turn, increasing time spent indoors and engaged in activities such as television viewing, videogame, and computer usage. What's more, perception may be an important construct when determining neighborhood safety [26].…”

“…Research has found the greater the land area dedicated for public open spaces, the more parents were satisfied with their local parks, and families living in a cul-de-sac were associated with higher reported levels of children's physical activity [7,29]. Community design adversely impacts health behaviors and contributes to negative health outcomes (i.e., obesity and other chronic disease) when they lack development patterns, adequate street connectivity, and destinations within appropriate and safe walking distances [9,39]. Other neighborhood features that appear to promote physical activity include walker-and bicyclistcommunities, presence of sidewalks, lower population density, safe intersections, mixed land use (i.e., mix of residential, retail, commercial, and recreation destinations), nearby and accessible destinations, public transit, and appealing green space [7,26,30].…”

“…Ecological models emphasize the influence of environmental factors and recognize that behavior is most likely shaped by the contexts in which it occurs [5,6,7,8]. With the rapid increase seen in childhood obesity, many health scientists propose childhood obesity is linked with built environments more so than biological factors [7,8,9,10,11]. Recently, Nigg and colleagues [12] reviewed 33 intervention studies supporting the effectiveness of multicomponent environmental interventions to prevent childhood obesity and promote health behaviors among children.…”