Physical and Social Environment Are Associated to Leisure Time Physical Activity in Adults of a Brazilian City: A Cross-Sectional Study

PLoS One. 2016 Feb 25;11(2):e0150017. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150017. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

The physical activity practice is highlighted as a strategy to health promotion and to avoid chronic diseases. In addition to individual factors, environmental characteristics in which people live, may offer opportunities or barriers in adopting healthy habits and this is related to the physical activity (PA) practice among individuals. The aim of this study is to investigate the associations between neighborhood environment and leisure-time physical activity in adults. This is a cross-sectional study, developed using the database of Surveillance System for Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Diseases by Telephone Survey (VIGITEL 2008/2010) of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Individuals with the habit of practicing PA for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity PA or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity PA throughout the week in leisure time were classified as active in leisure time. To characterize the built and social environment we used georeferenced data of public and private places for physical activity, population density, residential density, homicide rate and total income of the coverage area of the basic health units. The covered area of the basic health units was used as context unit. For data analysis, we used multilevel logistic regression. The study included 5779 adults, 58.77% female. There was variability of physical activity in leisure time between area covered by the basic health units (Median Odds ratio = 1.30). After adjusting for individual characteristics, the increase of density of private places for physical activity (Odds ratios-OR = 1.31; 95% confidence interval-95% CI: 1.15 to 1.48) and the smaller homicide rate (OR = 0.82; IC95%: 0.70 to 0.96) in the neighborhood increased physical activity in leisure time. The evidence of this study shows that neighborhood environment may influence the physical activity practice in leisure time and should be considered in future interventions and health promotion strategies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Brazil
  • Cities*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Environment Design
  • Environment*
  • Female
  • Health Promotion
  • Humans
  • Leisure Activities*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Motor Activity*
  • Population Density
  • Residence Characteristics
  • Social Environment*
  • Socioeconomic Factors

Grants and funding

CSG and FPM received scholarship from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). MCP received grant from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPQ). GVM is researcher from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do estado de Minas Gerais- PPM 00114 -13 (FAPEMIG).