Abstract
Without accurate awareness of features within the built environment, the availability of a supportive built environment alone may not be sufficient to influence physical activity levels. We examined the moderating effects of concordance/discordance between selected objective and perceived built environment features in the relationship between objective built environment features and physical activity. Cross-sectional data from 465 youth aged 12–20 years from 18 schools in Melbourne, Australia were used. The relationship between trails and physical activity differed by concordance/discordance. There were positive relationships among those with concordant perceptions, but no significant differences for those with discordant perceptions. At least for trails, environmental interventions designed to enhance physical activity may be less effective if efforts are not made to enhance individuals’ awareness of their environment.
Highlights
Built environments that promote active living are considered important for improving levels of physical activity [1,2]
This study aimed to address this gap by examining whether concordance/discordance between perceived and objective built environment features moderated the relationship between selected objective built environment features and physical activity among adolescents
A significant relationship was observed between trails within 1 km and weekday moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) among those who had concordant perceptions: for every one-unit increase in trail count within 1 km, MVPA was 5.43 min/day higher (B = 5.43; 95% CI 1.83, 9.03; p = 0.003)
Summary
Built environments that promote active living are considered important for improving levels of physical activity [1,2]. The availability of a supportive built environment alone may not be sufficient to influence PA levels, and individuals’ perceptions of the built environment often vary from the objectively measured environment [3]. According to the social ecological framework, the built environment-physical activity relationship may depend on individual-level psychosocial factors [7]. To date no studies have examined how individuals’ awareness of the built environment influence the relationship between the actual built environment and physical activity. To better understand the relationship between the built environment and physical activity, both objective built environment attributes (environmental level) and concordance between perceptions and actual built environment attributes (individual level) should be considered
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