Abstract
BackgroundPhysical activity (PA) adoption is essential for obesity prevention and control, yet ethnic minority women report lower levels of PA and are at higher risk for obesity and its comorbidities compared to Caucasians. Epidemiological studies and ecologic models of health behavior suggest that built environmental factors are associated with health behaviors like PA, but few studies have examined the association between built environment attribute concordance and PA, and no known studies have examined attribute concordance and PA adoption.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to associate the degree of concordance between directly and indirectly measured built environment attributes with changes in PA over time among African American and Hispanic Latina women participating in a PA intervention.MethodWomen (N = 410) completed measures of PA at Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2); environmental data collected at T1 were used to compute concordance between directly and indirectly measured built environment attributes. The association between changes in PA and the degree of concordance between each directly and indirectly measured environmental attribute was assessed using repeated measures analyses.ResultsThere were no significant associations between built environment attribute concordance values and change in self-reported or objectively measured PA. Self-reported PA significantly increased over time (F(1,184) = 7.82, p = .006), but this increase did not vary by ethnicity or any built environment attribute concordance variable.ConclusionsBuilt environment attribute concordance may not be associated with PA changes over time among minority women. In an effort to promote PA, investigators should clarify specific built environment attributes that are important for PA adoption and whether accurate perceptions of these attributes are necessary, particularly among the vulnerable population of minority women.
Highlights
Physical activity (PA) adoption is essential for obesity prevention and control, yet ethnic minority women report lower levels of PA and are at higher risk for obesity and its comorbidities compared to Caucasians
The purpose of this study was to associate the degree of concordance between directly and indirectly measured built environment attributes with changes in PA over time among African American and Hispanic Latina women participating in a PA intervention
Self-reported PA significantly increased over time (F(1,184) = 7.82, p = .006), but this increase did not vary by ethnicity or any built environment attribute concordance variable
Summary
Physical activity (PA) adoption is essential for obesity prevention and control, yet ethnic minority women report lower levels of PA and are at higher risk for obesity and its comorbidities compared to Caucasians. Neighborhood built environment changes can benefit all people in a surrounding neighborhood rather than only focusing on changing individual behavior [17] These changes can include building and improving physical activity resources (PARs), sidewalks and bicycle facilities (e.g., bicycle lanes, bicycle route signs), and can be more permanent than interventions focusing on individual-level changes. Empirical evidence consistently supports these associations [7,8,9,10], but less is known about how built environment attributes affect PA adoption, especially among vulnerable populations like women [17] for whom predictors of the adoption and maintenance of PA can differ [19]
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