Street Connectivity is Negatively Associated with Physical Activity in Canadian Youth
1
Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Queen’s University, 99 University Avenue, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
2
Clinical Research Center, Angada 3, Kingston General Hospital, 76 Stuart St., Kingston, ON K7L 2V7, Canada
3
School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen’s University, 99 University Avenue, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2011, 8(8), 3333-3350; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8083333
Received: 21 May 2011
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Revised: 8 August 2011
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Accepted: 8 August 2011
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Published: 16 August 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Behaviors and Public Health)
Street connectivity, defined as how well streets connect to one and other and the density of intersections, is positively associated with active transportation in adults. Our objective was to study the relation between street connectivity and physical activity in youth. Study participants consisted of 8,535 students in grades 6–10 from 180 schools across Canada who completed the 2006 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. Street connectivity was measured in a 5 km circular buffer around these schools using established geographic information system measures. Physical activity performed outside of school hours was assessed by questionnaire, and multi-level regression analyses were used to estimate associations with street connectivity after controlling for several covariates. Compared to students living in the highest street connectivity quartile, those in the second (relative risk = 1.22, 95% confidence interval = 1.10–1.35), third (1.25, 1.13–1.37), and fourth (1.21, 1.09–1.34) quartiles were more likely to be physically active outside of school. In conclusion, youth in neighbourhoods with the most highly connected streets reported less physical activity outside of school than youth from neighbourhoods with less connected streets. Relationships between street connectivity and physical activity reported in this national study are in the opposite direction to those previously observed for active transportation in adult populations.
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Keywords:
adolescent; physical activity; built environment; street connectivity
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MDPI and ACS Style
Mecredy, G.; Pickett, W.; Janssen, I. Street Connectivity is Negatively Associated with Physical Activity in Canadian Youth. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2011, 8, 3333-3350. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8083333
AMA Style
Mecredy G, Pickett W, Janssen I. Street Connectivity is Negatively Associated with Physical Activity in Canadian Youth. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2011; 8(8):3333-3350. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8083333
Chicago/Turabian StyleMecredy, Graham, William Pickett, and Ian Janssen. 2011. "Street Connectivity is Negatively Associated with Physical Activity in Canadian Youth" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 8, no. 8: 3333-3350. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8083333
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