Association of Perceived Environmental Characteristics and Participation in Organized and Non-Organized Physical Activities of Adolescents

Abstract

Specific behavior context such as type of PA (organized vs. nonorganized) might be associated with different environmental correlates. The main goal of this cross-sectional survey was to examine perceived environmental associations with type of adolescents' physical activity (PA) choices (organized and nonorganized). A sample of this study comprised 425 girls with mean age of 14.5 years-old. Environmental variables and PA were assessed by questionnaire, which allowed to define the type (organized or nonorganized) of PA. No associations were found between environmental perceptions and the participation in organized activities. However, different dimensions of environmental variables such as accessibilities to facilities (p -/+ .05) aesthetics (p -/+ .05) and social environment (p -/+ .05) were associated to girls' PA participation in nonorganized activities (NOPA). Our findings suggested that some environmental characteristics might play an important role in girls' NOPA participation.

Distância percebida até as instalações de lazer e sua associação com a prática de atividade física e de exercícios em adolescentes de Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil

“…De fato, as principais barreiras para a prática de atividade física relatadas por adolescentes de Curitiba incluem a percepção de distância até os locais, dificuldade de acesso e não conhecer os locais, além da falta de segurança no bairro 12,13 . De maneira similar ao verificado no presente estudo, em pesquisas conduzidas no Brasil (Curitiba) 15 , na Holanda (Roterdã) 19 , em Portugal (Porto) 37 e na Nova Zelândia (Auckland) 20 , os autores encontraram associação positiva entre presença e proximidade de instalações de lazer (parques, quadras, academias e ciclovias) com a prática de atividade física de adolescentes. Contudo, esses resultados são distintos aos encontrados em João Pessoa, onde a percepção de presença de locais para a prática de atividade física no bairro não se associou com a prática de atividade física de intensidade moderada a vigorosa 14 .…”

Physical Activity Behavior Predictors , Reasons and Barriers among Male Adolescents in Riyadh , Saudi Arabia : Evidence for Obesogenic Environment

“…[17] Moreover, youth perceptions of neighborhood safety (e.g., traffic, strangers, poorly maintained or unsafe facilities, poor lighting, or negative social influences) also are associated with physical activity participation. [18,19] With regard to the reasons and barriers for physical activity, we assume that Saudi female are less likely to participate in the required amount of physical activity levels, and the sedentary life style most likely to be higher among them because of social, religion perceptions, environmental factors and cultural reasons. However, it has been reported that Saudi females in particular are at great risk of sedentary behaviors and physical inactivity [9] and found to be significantly less active.…”

Physical activity, psychosocial and perceived environmental factors in adolescents from Northeast Brazil

“…Another aspect to consider is that environmental characteristics may differ in terms of degree of influence, depending on the outcome or measure of physical activity. Mota et al 41 showed that there are differences in the extent to which environmental characteristics can influence the participation of adolescents in structured and non-structured physical activities. The present study has the following limitations: since this was a cross-sectional study, it is not possible to establish cause-effect relationships.…”