physical activity

Background: Research consistently demonstrates that physical activity declines with age. However, such declines do not occur linearly. The transition into early adulthood is one period where disproportionate declines in physical activity have been evident, but much of our understanding of such declines among young adults has been based on cross-sectional data or with prospective studies exclusively focused on college/university students. Purpose & Methods: The purpose of the current...

American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Special Issue, Sitting and Health. Volume 41, Issue 2. August 2011.

Background: Sedentary activities such as video gaming are independently associated with obesity. Active video games, in which players physically interact with images on screen, may help increase physical activity and improve body composition. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of active video games over a 6-mo period on weight, body composition, physical activity, and physical fitness. Design: We conducted a 2-arm, parallel, randomized controlled trial in...

Background: Parks have been proposed as a feature of the built environment that may promote increased physical activity. Little, if any, research has investigated the role of the park social environment in promoting physical activity within parks, however. Purpose: To examine whether social capital is a collective feature of the park environment and whether it is associated with park use and park-based physical activity. Methods: Adult park users (n=222) were surveyed in 27 neighborhood...

BACKGROUND: Active living integrates physical activity into one's daily routine. Current understanding of active living among children and their families living in rural communities is limited. A community perspective is critical to understand the contextual factors that influence children's physical activity in rural areas. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived environmental factors that support or hinder physical activity among rural children to develop...

Background: Proximity to public open space, such as parks and other green spaces, has considerable health benef?ts, and people have been shown to be more likely to use such space for physical activity if it is of high quality. This paper describes a new remote-assessment approach that makes use of Google Earth Pro (the free version of this program is Google Earth) to provide rapid and inexpensive measurement of the quality of public open space. Purpose: The aim of the study was to...

Background: Walk Score recently has been demonstrated as a valid and reliable tool for estimating access to nearby facilities, a critical component of the physical activity environment. It has not yet been determined whether Walk Score relates to other critical components of the physical activity environment, including street connectivity, access to public transit, residential density, and crime. Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between Walk Score and...

Background: With increased research on the influence of the built environment on physical activity, methods of assessing environmental attributes have to be developed according to different research requirements. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the approach to develop and test a simple and eff?cient audit tool to get a quick overview of environmental characteristics along a route or in a neighborhood. Methods: Based on a selection of existing audit instruments, the...

Context: Concern over liability is a barrier to allowing community use of school property for the purpose of engaging in active sport and recreational activities. Recreational user statutes have the potential to limit liability for public schools when use occurs outside of regular school hours, reduce the fear of liability among school administrators, and increase opportunities for access to school facilities for recreation and physical activity by community members. The purpose of this...

Background: Interventions to increase children’s physical activity have had limited success. One reason may be that children and their parents overestimate children’s levels of physical activity, although there are few data on this topic. Purpose: This study aimed to assess awareness of physical activity levels among British school children aged 9–10 years and their parents. Methods: Physical activity was measured by accelerometer in a cross-sectional study of 1892 children...