The influence of the macro-environment on physical activity: a multilevel analysis of 38 countries worldwide

Abstract

BackgroundAs indicated by the ANGELO framework and similar models, various environmental factors influence population levels of physical activity (PA). To date attention has focused on the micro-level environment, while evidence on the macro-level environment remains scarce and mostly limited to high-income countries. This study aims to investigate whether environmental factors at macro-level are associated with PA among a broader range of countries.MethodsData from the World Health Survey (WHS) was used to analyze 177,035 adults from 38 (mostly low and middle income) countries. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-S) was used to measure PA. Respondents were classified as active or inactive for vigorous PA, moderate PA and walking. Multilevel logistic regression was performed to assess associations between macro-level environmental factors and the prevalence of PA, with control for individual-level socioeconomic factors.ResultsThe prevalence of PA varied widely between countries and types of PA (5.0%-93.8%). A negative association was found between gross domestic product and PA, odds ratios for men were 0.76 (95% CI: 0.65-0.89) for moderate PA and 0.79 (95% CI: 0.63-0.98) for walking. A higher temperature was associated with less PA (all types) and higher urbanization was associated with less vigorous and moderate PA. More gender equality was also associated with more walking for women. Governmental functioning and literacy rate were not found to be associated with any type of PA.ConclusionsThis exploratory study indicates that factors such as climate, economic development and cultural factors are determinants of the level of overall PA at national levels. This underlines the suggestion that the macro-environment should be regarded as an important influence on PA.

Levels of physical activity among adults 18–64 years old in 28 European countries

“…Men were also more likely to report higher levels of activity compared to women. This is a common finding in many, but not all European countries (Bauman et al, 2009;Salanave et al, 2012;Van Tuyckom et al, 2010;Wallmann-Sperlich and Froboese, 2014), which may reflect different gender roles between member countries (Bosdriesz et al, 2012). (Rissel et al, 2012).…”

“…For example, higher temperatures have been associated with less physical activity (Bosdriesz et al, 2012) and higher Gross Domestic Product per capita associated with more physical activity (Cameron et al, 2013), which might partly explain why respondents in Northern and Western Europe reported higher activity levels compared to Respondents who had no difficulty in paying bills, as well as those with more years of fulltime education were more likely to be adequately and highly active compared to those with some or frequent difficulties in paying bills and lower educational level respectively. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 10 2014), while occupational activity was higher among adults of low socio-economic level (Beenackers et al, 2012).…”

Neighborhood Environments and Objectively Measured Physical Activity in 11 Countries

“…We hypothesized that associations would be generalizable across sites to a greater extent than previously observed (13) due to the use of objective measures of PA, which should be unaffected by socio-cultural response biases. Since unmeasured socio-cultural factors (29) and climatic conditions can substantially influence engagement in PA (4), we also hypothesized that perceived environmental factors would explain only a moderate portion of the between-site difference in PA estimates.…”

External environmental considerations in the planning of strategies of car dealerships

“…Online social networking technologies, such as Facebook and Myspace are increasingly being used by organizations to generate more direct sales, and to attract and connect with customers more cheaply, than traditional marketing communication channels such as television, radio and newspapers (Mangold and Faulds, 2009 (Bosdriesz et al, 2012). In analyzing the social environment, a marketer needs to consider the factors associated with demographic and cultural forces with regard to the impact these factors may have on organization's marketing strategy.…”

“…In analyzing the social environment, a marketer needs to consider the factors associated with demographic and cultural forces with regard to the impact these factors may have on organization's marketing strategy. The analyzis of demographic factors includes the study of the human population regarding size, geographic distribution, age, education levels and income distribution (Bosdriesz et al, 2012). The social environment influences customers' buying behavior and product selections, and therefore, also the marketing strategy the organization should develop.…”