Perceived neighborhood environment and physical activity in 11 countries: Do associations differ by country?

• Published in: The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 57
• Main Authors: Ding, Ding, Adams, Marc A, Sallis, James F, Norman, Gregory J, Hovell, Melbourn F, Chambers, Christina D, Hofstetter, C Richard, Bowles, Heather R, Hagströmer, Maria, Craig, Cora L, Gomez, Luis Fernando, Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse De, Macfarlane, Duncan J, Ainsworth, Barbara E, Bergman, Patrick, Bull, Fiona C, Carr, Harriette, Klasson-Heggebo, Lena, Inoue, Shigeru, Murase, Norio, Matsudo, Sandra, Matsudo, Victor, McLean, Grant, Sjöström, Michael, Tomten, Heidi, Lefevre, Johan, Volbekiene, Vida, Bauman, Adrian E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BioMed Central 14.05.2013; BioMed Central Ltd
• Subjects: Analysis; Behavioral Sciences; Bicycling; Built environment; Clinical Nutrition; Community life; Environment Design; Environmental aspects; ethnology; Exercise; Generalizability; Health aspects; Health Behavior; Health Behavior - ethnology; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Housing; Humans; Idrottsvetenskap; International; Internationality; Land use; Local transit; Logistic Models; logit analysis; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Moderator; Neighborhood environment; Neighborhoods; Neurosciences; Nutrition; Perception; Physical activity; Physical fitness; Population; Preventive medicine; Public Facilities; Public health; Recreation; Residence Characteristics; Sedentary behavior; sociodemographic characteristics; Sport Science; Studies; Transportation; Japan; New Zealand; California; Hong Kong; Western Australia Australia; Neighborhood environment; Moderator; Built environment; Physical activity; Generalizability; International
• ISSN: 1479-5868; 1479-5868
• DOI: 10.1186/1479-5868-10-57

Background Increasing empirical evidence supports associations between neighborhood environments and physical activity. However, since most studies were conducted in a single country, particularly western countries, the generalizability of associations in an international setting is not well understood. The current study examined whether associations between perceived attributes of neighborhood environments and physical activity differed by country. Methods Population representative samples from 11 countries on five continents were surveyed using comparable methodologies and measurement instruments. Neighborhood environment × country interactions were tested in logistic regression models with meeting physical activity recommendations as the outcome, adjusted for demographic characteristics. Country-specific associations were reported. Results Significant neighborhood environment attribute × country interactions implied some differences across countries in the association of each neighborhood attribute with meeting physical activity recommendations. Across the 11 countries, land-use mix and sidewalks had the most consistent associations with physical activity. Access to public transit, bicycle facilities, and low-cost recreation facilities had some associations with physical activity, but with less consistency across countries. There was little evidence supporting the associations of residential density and crime-related safety with physical activity in most countries. Conclusion There is evidence of generalizability for the associations of land use mix, and presence of sidewalks with physical activity. Associations of other neighborhood characteristics with physical activity tended to differ by country. Future studies should include objective measures of neighborhood environments, compare psychometric properties of reports across countries, and use better specified models to further understand the similarities and differences in associations across countries.