Associations between parental reasons for choosing a neighborhood and adolescents’ physical activity and commuting behaviors

Abstract

IntroductionAdolescents' physical activity (PA) and commuting behaviors are related to their parents' perceptions of the neighborhood. This study analyzed the association between parental reasons for choosing a neighborhood to live in and their adolescent’ moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), active commuting to/from school (ACS), and independent mobility (IM) excluding school travel. MethodsParticipants were adolescents (n = 373) and their parents (n = 373) in Spain. Parents reported their reasons for choosing a neighborhood, and adolescents reported their ACS and IM excluding school travel. Accelerometry was used to assess adolescents’ MVPA. Multilevel regressions were used to analyze the associations between parental reasons and the outcome variables (MVPA, ACS and IM). ResultsHigh importance of affordability/value for parents was associated with higher levels of weekday MVPA in adolescents (β = 2.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.21, 4.16), whereas greater distance from busy streets (β = 2.08, 95% CI 0.12, 4.51) was positively associated with MVPA during the weekend. A higher percentage of ACS in adolescents was associated with having parents who valued proximity to the school (β = 3.43, 95% CI 0.17, 0.64). IM excluding school travel was higher when parents assigned relatively less value to the proximity of the school (β = −3.35, 95% CI −8.76, −2.28), safety from crime (β = −2.77, 95% CI −6.63, −1.39), and sense of community (β = −2.31, 95% CI −6.63, −0.53). ConclusionsIt is crucial to develop spaces and facilities for PA, and to increase the walkability of the neighborhoods, considering the distance from home to school, in order to promote MVPA and ACS in adolescents.