Sports Facilities, Shopping Centers or Homes: What Locations are Important for Adults’ Physical Activity? A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Physical activity (PA) is influenced by the built environment. However, little is known about the types of built environment where adults spend their time, and at what levels of PA they engage in those environments. Understanding the effect of the built environment on PA requires insight into PA behavior at different types of locations (e.g., home, work, shopping centers, and sports facilities). Therefore, this study describes where adults aged 45–65 years were active with moderate-to-vigorous intensity (MVPA), and examines associations of socio-demographic factors and neighborhood with MVPA at these locations. Participants’ (N = 308) PA was measured for seven days using accelerometers and GPS-devices. Adults spent most minutes of MVPA at home and work. Highest MVPA-ratios of total time spent at a location were achieved in sports facilities and during transport. Neighborhood characteristics and socio-demographic factors such as work status, health status and household structure, had significant effects on MVPA at various locations and on total MVPA. Understanding PA behavior at various locations may provide insights that allow professionals in different domains (e.g., health, landscaping, urban planning) to develop strategies to stimulate PA.

Neighbourhood greenspace is associated with a slower decline in physical activity in older adults: A prospective cohort study

“…We also tested different classifications of exposure to greenspace by running the models on different neighbourhood buffer sizes, based on evidence that people may roam further than their immediate home neighbourhood (Hillsdon et al, 2015), which did not strongly affect the association between exposure and decline in physical activity. However, it is noteworthy that evidence as to what is an appropriate ‘neighbourhood’ for older adults is unclear, and they may tend to stay closer to home than younger individuals (Jansen et al, 2016, Prins et al, 2014). The nature, meaning and use of greenspace may differ between urban and rural areas, with green urban areas particularly tending to be accessible and managed.…”

Environmental Influences on Leisure-Time Physical Inactivity in the U.S.: An Exploration of Spatial Non-Stationarity

“…The OLS is a linear regression model, which estimates coefficients by minimizing the sum of squares of the errors of predicted results. The OLS is one of the most widely used methods in LTPI research for investigating the association between environmental factors and LTPI [36,38,39,84]. However, the OLS does not consider any spatial variables or deal with spatial effects (e.g., spatial autocorrelation).…”

Cognitive Effects and Educational Possibilities of Physical Activity in Sustainable Cities

“…These encounters with art not only favor socialization, but also refresh and exercise our cognitive components related to emotions [2,69], which are one of the most important component to work body language in education. In addition, visit and participation to folklore and gastronomic festivals are magnificent socializing environments that invite us to exercise the rest of senses and cognitive functions at the same time we can do PA [2,15].…”

“…The effect of the environment on behaviors and their relationship with the PA in different types of locations (for example, home, work, shopping centers and sports facilities) has been studied. Most of the PA is performed at home and at work, while the highest moderate to vigorous physical activity relationships were achieved in sports facilities and during daily transfers [15,16].…”