Perceived neighborhood safety related to physical activity but not recreational screen-based sedentary behavior in adolescents

Abstract

BackgroundA growing proportion of adolescents have poor cardiovascular health behaviors, including low levels of physical activity and high levels of sedentary behavior, thus increasing the likelihood of poor heart health in later years. This study tested the hypothesis that low perceived neighborhood safety would be associated with low levels of physical activity and high levels of recreational sedentary behavior in high-school students.MethodsUsing cross-sectional, weighted data from the 2015 Pennsylvania (USA) State and Philadelphia city Youth Risk Behavior Survey, multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to examine the association between perceived neighborhood safety, and physical activity levels and recreational screen-based sedentary behavior time respectively, while controlling for potential confounders.ResultsAfter adjustment for other significant correlates of physical activity, students with low perceived neighborhood safety had a 21% reduced odds of being physically active on 5 or more days of the last week as compared to those who felt safe (p = 0.044). Perceived safety was not related to sedentary behavior; but sports team participation emerged as a strong correlate of low screen-based sedentary behavior (OR = 0.73, p = .002).ConclusionThese data add to a growing body of work demonstrating the importance of perceived safety with physical activity levels in youth. Sports team participation may be a viable target to reduce screen-based sedentary time.

Individual- and environmental-related correlates of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old Finnish children

“…Based on the results of this study we cannot assess the importance of family restrictions on screen time. One explanation for the results of our study can be that the participation in organized PA counteracts excessive time in front of a screen [36]. Nevertheless, the results of this study support the inclusion of screen time recommendations in PA guidelines.…”

Aggregated aluminium exposure: risk assessment for the general population

“…This hypothesis is further strengthened by the findings of other studies that the amount of other elements, such as iron, nickel, chromium and lead, is also significantly elevated in breast cancer tissue (Ionescu et al 2007;Romaniuk et al 2017). However, one recent study indicates the respective aluminium to at least partly originate from the use of antiperspirants (Lenhart et al 2017).…”

Dover Micro Open Street Events: Evaluation Results and Implications for Community-Based Physical Activity Programming

“…The current evaluation showed that about half of the respondents felt they had someone to trust, and that their local recreational facilities were of good quality while the majority of respondents felt safe in their neighborhood. Importantly, the neighborhood audits showed a preponderance of features shown to be positively associated with regular physical activity including high levels of perceived neighborhood safety (16), aesthetically pleasing surroundings, community facilities, and generally inviting routes (7). It may be important to consider such factors when selecting locations for MOSEs.…”