Individual, family, school environment, and neighborhood characteristics related to different expressions of physical activity in adolescents
Description
The aim of this study was to investigate the association among individual, family, school environment and neighborhood characteristics with the different expressions of physical activity (PA) [number of steps (NS), light PA (LPA) and moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA)] in adolescents from Viçosa, MG, Brazil. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 309 adolescents with a mean age of 15.37 (± 0.57) years. LPA, MVPA, NS and sleep time were assessed by accelerometry. Individual characteristics were determined by anthropometry and questionnaires, while family, school environment and neighborhood characteristics were assessed using questionnaires. Robust Regression analysis was performed considering a significance level of 5%. The NS showed a negative association with the variables of sex, places to walk and paved roads, and a positive association with work and crime. LPA had a negative association with the variables of sex, commuting to school, sleep and paved roads, and a positive association with work. The MVPA showed a negative association with the variables of sex and paved roads, and a positive association with work, commuting to school and crime. Such results indicated that boys, those who work and those who live in unpaved neighborhoods presented greater NS and time in LPA and MVPA; those who live in neighborhoods with higher crime had higher NS and time spent in MVPA; those who live in neighborhoods without an adequate place to walk performed a higher NS; and those who passively commute to school had more time in LPA. There was an average reduction of 5.0 minutes in LPA time for each additional hour of sleep. Finally, students who actively commute to school had more time in MVPA. Individual factors and factors related to the neighborhood environment can play an important role in understanding the variables which can influence the different expressions of PA in adolescents.