Towards translation of environmental determinants of physical activity in children into multi-sector policy measures: study design of a Dutch project

Abstract

Background: Physical inactivity in children is a major health problem in The Netherlands as well as in many other Western countries. In addition to health promotion among parents and children, creating "active" neighbourhoods can contribute to the solution of this health problem. However, changing environmental characteristics is often the responsibility of policy sectors outside the Public Health domain. Therefore this project identifies and evaluates the possibilities of multi-sector policy measures to stimulate physical activity in children.

Physical and Social Contextual Influences on Children’s Leisure-Time Physical Activity: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

“…Interestingly, physical activity taking place outdoors (not at home) and in children's front/backyards did not differ in terms of total steps and MVPA. These findings suggest that while policy efforts to increase the availability of neighborhood playgrounds and sports fields may promote children's physical activity, 17,18 it may be equally effective to teach parents to encourage their children to spend time outdoors in their own yards (if front/backyard space is available). In addition, results suggest that promoting physical activity that occurs with family and friends together may result in greater overall energy expenditure than activity taking place only with family members.…”

Multi-sector policy action to create activity-friendly environments for children: A multiple-case study

“…The cities selected for this study were participating in a large scale research project described in more detail elsewhere [19]. At the start of this project in October 2006, five municipalities were approached by letter for participation in the project and were given more detailed information during a personal meeting.…”

Environmental Determinants of Outdoor Play in Children

“…The selection procedures and characteristics of the participating cities are described in more detail elsewhere. 22…”

“…Approximately one third of all invited schools agreed to participate (nϭ42). As outlined elsewhere, 22 the schools in the current study were representative of the total population of schools in the participating municipalities in terms of school size, SES, and the type of neighborhood. In total, 11,094 parents were provided with a questionnaire.…”

“…The fınal database thus encompassed 6470 respondents. Based on our power analysis described elsewhere, 22 the current study provided adequate power to detect small effects (f 2 ϭ0.02).…”