“…For example, Sallis and colleagues (Sallis, Alcaraz, McKenzie, Hovell, Kolody, & Nader, 1992 ;Sallis, Alcaraz, McKenzie, & Hovell, 1999 ) found that "parents transporting their children to exercise facilities" was an element signifi cantly associated with physical activity. Plotnikoff , Bercovitz, and Loucaides (2004 ) found that high school students in rural environments smoked more and were more overweight than those in urban environments, possibly indicating less availability of formal spaces for activities. There are contradictory opinions about fi tness levels: (1) in urban environments, people are more sedentary because the context leads to inactive life style, while those in rural environments could take advantage of green space; (2) in urban environments, people have more possibilities for physical activity because sport facilities are available, while in rural contexts people spent much time in manual and/or farm work ( Malina, 1996 ;Wilcox, Castro, King, Housemann, & Brownson, 2000 ;Kabagambe, Baylin, Siles, & Campos, 2002 ;Parks, Housemann, & Brownson 2003 ;Malina, et al ., 2008 ) In Southern European countries and in Cyprus, studies have assessed the diff erences between urban and rural populations ( Ozdirenç, et al ., 2005 ;Tsimeas, Tsiokanos, Koutedakis, Tsigilis, & Kellis, 2005 ;Tinazci & Emiroglu, 2009).…”