Citation

Echeverria SE, Luan A, Isasi CR, Johnson-Dias J, Pacquiao D. J. Phys. Act. Health 2014; 11(1): 186-194.

Affiliation

Department of Epidemiology, UMDNJ School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Human Kinetics Publishers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

23359105

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Neighborhoods can be an important feature of the built environment influencing physical activity. However, neighborhood poverty and violence may pose significant barriers for youth physical activity. We conducted a community survey of 107 households with youth 3-12 years of age in select neighborhoods of the city of Newark, New Jersey, a highly impoverished and racially/ethnically segregated city of the United States. RESULTS: The majority of sampled households did not have access to a park, and nearly 60% of youth were not engaged in a team or organized physical activity program. Hearing gunshots and seeing drug deals in the neighborhood were reported by 74% and 56%, respectively, of study participants. In adjusted regression models, a 1-unit increase in self-reported neighborhood safety was associated with perceptions that parks were safe for youth to use (OR=1.7, CI=1.3, 2.3) and increased odds of youth using parks (OR=1.3, CI=1.0, 1.6). Self-reported neighborhood violence was marginally associated with lower levels of Metabolic Equivalent (MET)-min/ week of moderate PA (Beta=-54.25, p=0.05). CONCLUSION: To ensure national goals of increased physical activity and use of outdoor spaces will require addressing the neighborhood contexts under which the most vulnerable of our youth live.

Language: en