This research examined the contribution of environmental correlates of active travel and overall physical activity in deprived urban neighbourhoods in Scotland. Apart from access to local amenities, environmental characteristics may have limited influence on active travel in deprived urban populations characterised by a low level of car ownership.
Archive for category Environment
The Utah Department of Transportation is collaborating with teachers and parents across the state to map the safest routes for children to walk and bike to school.
The UK National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has drawn up guidelines on ways to increase the amount of physical activity children do. The recommendations includes opening school playing fields and facilities before and after hours, weekends and holidays for children. Local authorities should also coordinate the use of “non-traditional settings” such as office car parks.
Investment in safe routes to school projects: public health benefits for the larger community
Aug 27
Results suggest that The Safe Routes to School projects in urban areas can improve the walking and bicycling environment for adults as well as for children, the target users. Investment in Safe Routes To School can contribute to increased physical activity among children and adults.
This research from For more information on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation discusses the current trends in walking and biking to school and the lack of physical activity among chlidren that is critial to reversing the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States.
Neighborhood physical and social environmental factors are significantly associated with walking at recommended levels. This is based on California survey data from 2003.
The purpose of this Canadian study was to examine how healthy weight status among youth was related to distance to the closest park from home, and the availability of 13 specific park facilities within 1 km of the home. Results suggest that availability of certain park facilities may play a more important role in promoting physical activity and healthy weight status among children than availability of park space in general.Implications for park design are discussed.
Does your neighborhood have a lot of fast food outlets, few sidewalks, and no parks? If yes, your physical neighborhood may be hampering your ability to be physically active and placing you at increased risk for obesity.
Boys from low socio-economic schools and those who slept for less than 6 h at night were less active. Girls from middle school were found to be more physically active than girls from high school, and girls with less educated parents were also less physically active. No clear relationship was found between the level of obesity and physical activity. Interventions should therefore focus on gender, age, social status, sleeping habits and parental educational status.
Dr. James Levine studies environment-changing innovations in a real-life to increase daily physical activity. The innovations include: ‘¢ Removing chairs and traditional desk seating ‘¢ Introducing walking tracks ‘¢ Educating and encouraging staff to conduct walking meetings ‘¢ Replacing traditional phones with mobile sets