Using a scale designed to measure favorable neighborhood attributes, researchers
from Saint Louis University found that people with a higher regard for
their community were more likely to get the recommended amount of weekly
physical activity.
And as perceptions of a community rose, so did the likelihood of meeting
the recommendations: A 10-point rise in the researchers’ scale
corresponded to a 12 percent increase in the likelihood of getting enough
exercise.
However, further analysis suggests that the association between good neighborhoods
and physical activity may hold true only for white people and those living
at certain income levels, say Laura K. Brennan, Ph.D., M.P.H., and colleagues.
The link between neighborhood perception and exercise is particularly
significant among those making between $10,000 and $20,000 and those making
more than $35,000 a year, the researchers found.
Age was the only significant factor related to physical activity among
black study participants, with younger participants more likely to meet
exercise recommendations. Younger participants across all income levels
were also more likely to meet recommendations.
Brennan and colleagues analyzed data from a phone survey of 1,818 people
nationwide. Survey participants answered questions about their general
health, levels of physical activity and how they felt about certain aspects
of their community, including whether they lived in a close-knit community,
had helpful and trusted neighbors and felt safe from crime.
The researchers acknowledge that their findings should be combined with
more objective measures of a community’s features to better understand
how the environment affects activity.
“Although the community itself may have many assets, all community
members may not perceive these strengths to be important or accessible
to them,” Brennan says.
About one-fifth of the participants said they were in fair or poor health
and just under half failed to meet the national recommendations for weekly
exercise. Almost 250,000 of the total number of deaths in the United States
each year can be attributed to physical inactivity, the researchers note.
