The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of urban social and built environment characteristics to physical activity and anthropometry (height, weight and skin fold thickness). The authors note that neighborhood characteristics may influence children's opportunities for outdoor play and for using active transportation modalities, like walking, both of which have been shown in the literature to be related to greater physical activity.
The authors studied 428 preschool-aged children, aged 2-5 years, from low-income families in New York City. Half were female and 83% were Hispanic. About 43% were obese or overweight. The authors used accelerometer-based physical activity measures (over a six-day period), standardized measures of anthropometry and GIS, Census and other forms data related to many characteristics of the built environment near the children's homes and preschools. They also measured many social environment factors such as community demographics, local norms about body size and safety statistics. They hypothesized that children that live and go to preschool in areas with greater walkability, better safety, and more attractive aesthetic features (such as tree density, parks and playgrounds) would be more physically active and leaner than other children.
Results demonstrated that several measures of neighborhood composition, walkability, pedestrian safety, and greenness were correlated with physical activity or adiposity (skin fold thickness). Specifically, mixed land use, subway stops, pedestrian safety, street trees, and parks were significantly associated with greater physical activity or smaller skinfold thicknesses, as they had predicted. However, the authors' hypotheses about safety and aesthetic measures were not supported.
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