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.
Highlights
A growing proportion of adolescents have poor cardiovascular health behaviors, including low levels of physical activity and high levels of sedentary behavior, increasing the likelihood of poor heart health in later years
Less than 1% of adolescents achieve ideal heart health as defined by the American Heart Association, with fewer Black/African American youth meeting the recommendations for physical activity, blood pressure and cholesterol than Non-Hispanic Whites [10, 11]
Study sample Data from the 2015 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Youth Risk Behaviors Survey (YRBS) administered in the state of Pennsylvania and the School District of Philadelphia were used for this analysis
Summary
A growing proportion of adolescents have poor cardiovascular health behaviors, including low levels of physical activity and high levels of sedentary behavior, increasing the likelihood of poor heart health in later years. Stemming adult cardiovascular disease through the promotion of heart health behaviors, such as increased physical activity, and decreased recreational sedentary behavior in youth, is a viable public health approach [3]. Three in five 2–19 year olds are overweight or obese [8], while one in five youth aged 8 to 17 years have an adverse lipid concentration and slightly more than 1 in 10 have either borderline high, or high, blood pressure [9]. Less than 1% of adolescents achieve ideal heart health as defined by the American Heart Association, with fewer Black/African American youth meeting the recommendations for physical activity, blood pressure and cholesterol than Non-Hispanic Whites [10, 11]
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