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The influence of built, natural and social environment on physical activity among adults and elderly in southern Brazil: a population-based study

  • Original article
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International Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Objectives

This study investigated the association of built, natural and social environment variables with the practice of physical activity (PA) during leisure time and commuting.

Methods

Household interviews were carried out with a representative sample of individuals aged 18 years or older from a municipality in southern Brazil. PA was measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and households were georeferenced with a 500-m buffer.

Results

Few associations between environmental variables and PA practice were identified. Only proximity to the seafront, presence of private gyms or sports clubs and higher average monthly income of the household head were associated with the practice of PA. In addition, there were inconsistencies in the findings showing that the associations varied based on the intensity and modality of PA within the same domain.

Conclusions

This study provides evidence on the lack of association between objective environmental measures and the practice of PA. Although there were few significant results and the presence of inconsistencies in the findings, some environmental variables were associated with a more frequent practice of PA.

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Funding

This study was supported by Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS), Grant ARD/PPP/2014, Application No. 16/2551-0000359-9.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Postgraduate Program in Public Health, Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, 96203900, Brazil

    Jenifer Lopes Borchardt & Samuel Carvalho Dumith

  2. Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, 96203900, Brazil

    Renata Gomes Paulitsch & Samuel Carvalho Dumith

  3. Pelotas, Brazil

    Jenifer Lopes Borchardt

Authors
  1. Jenifer Lopes Borchardt
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  2. Renata Gomes Paulitsch
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  3. Samuel Carvalho Dumith
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Contributions

JLB performed the data analysis and drafted the manuscript. RGP supervised the collection of data and critically reviewed the article. SCD conceived the study and critically reviewed the article. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jenifer Lopes Borchardt.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Borchardt, J.L., Paulitsch, R.G. & Dumith, S.C. The influence of built, natural and social environment on physical activity among adults and elderly in southern Brazil: a population-based study. Int J Public Health 64, 649–658 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-019-01225-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-019-01225-0

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