Abstract
The challenge in the search for relationships between urban space, physical mobility, and health status, is detecting indicators able to link the environment with healthy life habits. Therefore, the objective was to design an urban index for the identification of urban environment propensity for physical activity (PA) and to determine how it relates to lifestyle and anthropometric parametrization of obesity. Participants (N = 318-60.4% women and 39.6% men) were recruited from a mid-sized city with epidemiology and morbidity rates below the average for the mid-west region of Brazil. Body mass index (BMI) was measured and a questionnaire was applied to gather information about PA and life habits. The spatial urban health index (SUHI) was designed in a geographic information system using data from demographic, environmental and urban physical features. The relationship between BMI and PA was verified with multiple linear regression, controlled for SUHI levels. Regarding the BMI of the population, 69.5% were classified in the eutrophic or overweight ranges, with no effect of gender and age. The SUHI classified 63.7% of the urban area favorable to PA. The PA routine was adequate (≥3 sessions with ≥1 h each) for ~80% of the population, as well as healthy habits such as non smoking (~94%) and non alcohol abuse (~55%). The SUHI strengthens the relationships of BMI to weekly frequency (r = -0.68; t = -9.4; p<0.001) and session duration (r = -0.66; t = -2.8; p<0.001) for the whole group by improving the explanatory coefficient in ~25% (R2Adj = 0.61 to R2Adj = 0.85). The SUHI indicated that the urban environment is able to promote healthy life habits by diminishing the "obesogenic" features of the city when physical structures are planned to facilitate PA, whatever the gender and age group.
Highlights
The incentive to practice physical activities in public environments is a trend in health policy strategies, aiming at reducing the propensity for chronic noncommunicable diseases and promoting healthy habits by increasing physical activity (PA) among the population [1,2]. socioeconomic aspects are believed to be associated with lifestyle and health perception [2,3], there are actions directly derived from health policies and associated with economic and social policies which are intended to guarantee physical, mental, and social wellbeing conditions, such as measures to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and obesity and promote collective and individual health [4,5]
Socioeconomic aspects are believed to be associated with lifestyle and health perception [2,3], there are actions directly derived from health policies and associated with economic and social policies which are intended to guarantee physical, mental, and social wellbeing conditions, such as measures to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and obesity and promote collective and individual health [4,5]
The results of the present study indicate that the aspects of the urban environment indexed by the spatial urban health index (SUHI) make the practice of PA negatively related to the obesity measurement (BMI)
Summary
The incentive to practice physical activities in public environments is a trend in health policy strategies, aiming at reducing the propensity for chronic noncommunicable diseases and promoting healthy habits by increasing physical activity (PA) among the population [1,2]. socioeconomic aspects are believed to be associated with lifestyle and health perception [2,3], there are actions directly derived from health policies and associated with economic and social policies which are intended to guarantee physical, mental, and social wellbeing conditions, such as measures to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and obesity and promote collective and individual health [4,5]. Urban indicators include characteristics of the constructed environment (e.g. neighborhood organization, building density, type of use, and quality of the housing) and access to public services (e.g. transport services, green areas, quality and security of public spaces), which make the urban area more efficient regarding energy expenditure, favoring more active mobility and promoting health benefits [6,7]. This approach has been called the ecosystem approach to human health, which is based on the integration between health of the population, management strategies, and the environment [8]. It is noteworthy that environmental and population factors that influence this relationship are little explored, such as other characteristics of space beyond green areas (e.g. population density and access roads) and the weighting of the relationships by socioeconomic factors, gender, and age [13]
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