Correlates of bike share use and its association with weight status at an urban university.

Background: Research on the influences on bike share use and potential favorable relationships between use and obesity is limited, particularly in the U.S. context.

Socioecological Factors Associated with an Urban Exercise Prescription Program for Under-Resourced Women: A Mixed Methods Community-Engaged Research Project.

One strategy to promote physical activity (PA) is for health care providers to give exercise prescriptions (ExRx) that refer to community-based facilities. However, facilitators and barriers specific to urban programs in the US for under-resourced women are unknown. Thus the purpose of this formative research was to explore ExRx barriers and facilitators specific to US under-resourced women to inform future intervention targets and strategies.

Factorial Invariance of the Abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale among Senior Women in the Nurses' Health Study Cohort.

The purpose of this study was to examine the factorial invariance of the Abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS-A) across subgroups based on demographic, health-related, behavioral, and environmental characteristics among Nurses' Health Study participants ( = 2,919; age = 73.0, = 6.9 years) living in California, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

Accelerometer and GPS Data to Analyze Built Environments and Physical Activity.

: Most built environment studies have quantified characteristics of the areas around participants' homes. However, the environmental exposures for physical activity (PA) are spatially dynamic rather than static. Thus, merged accelerometer and global positioning system (GPS) data were utilized to estimate associations between the built environment and PA among adults.

Associations between Walk Score and objective measures of physical activity in urban overweight and obese women.

The purpose of this study was to examine associations between the Walk Score and physical activity in young, overweight/obese urban women. Project Health included 45 White or African American women (BMI 31.5±3.

Neighborhood walkability and physical activity among older women: Tests of mediation by environmental perceptions and moderation by depressive symptoms.

Features that enhance neighborhood walkability (higher population density, street connectivity and access to destinations) are associated with higher levels of physical activity among older adults. The perceived neighborhood environment appears to mediate associations between the objective built environment and physical activity. The role of depressed mood in these associations is poorly understood.

Accelerometer and GPS Analysis of Trail Use and Associations With Physical Activity.

Background: Concurrent use of accelerometers and global positioning system (GPS) data can be used to quantify physical activity (PA) occurring on trails. This study examined associations of trail use with PA and sedentary behavior (SB) and quantified on trail PA using a combination of accelerometer and GPS data.

Methods: Adults (N = 142) wore accelerometer and GPS units for 1-4 days.

The observed and perceived neighborhood environment and physical activity among urban-dwelling adults: The moderating role of depressive symptoms.

Rationale: Physical environmental features of neighborhoods are associated with physical activity, but the influence of mental health factors, such as depression, on these associations is poorly understood.

Objective: We examined whether the perceived neighborhood environment mediated associations between the observed neighborhood environment and physical activity, and whether these associations were moderated by depressive symptoms.

Methods: Data consisted of systematic social observations of 343 neighborhoods and resident surveys.

Direct and Indirect Associations Between the Built Environment and Leisure and Utilitarian Walking in Older Women.

Background: The built environment predicts walking in older adults, but the degree to which associations between the objective built environment and walking for different purposes are mediated by environmental perceptions is unknown.

Purpose: We examined associations between the neighborhood built environment and leisure and utilitarian walking and mediation by the perceived environment among older women.

Methods: Women (N = 2732, M  = 72.

Correlates of Trail Use for Recreation and Transportation on 5 Massachusetts Trails.

Background: Promoting use of community trails is a recommended strategy for increasing population levels of physical activity. Correlates of walking and cycling for recreation or transportation differ, though few studies have compared correlates of trail-based physical activity for recreation and transportation purposes. This study examined associations of demographic, social, and perceived built environmental factors with trail use for recreation and transportation and whether associations were moderated by age, gender, and prior trail use.

International Trends in Adolescent Screen-Time Behaviors From 2002 to 2010.

Purpose: Engaging in prolonged screen-time behaviors (STBs) is detrimental for health. The objective of the present analyses was to examine temporal trends in TV viewing and computer use among adolescents across 30 countries.

Methods: Data were derived from the cross-national Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study.

Youth perceptions of how neighborhood physical environment and peers affect physical activity: a focus group study.

Objective: There is need for a youth-informed conceptualization of how environmental and social neighborhood contexts influence physical activity. We assessed youths' perceptions of their neighborhood physical and peer environments as affecting physical activity.

Methods: Thirty-three students (20 girls; ages 12-14 years) participated in focus groups about the physical environment and peers within their neighborhoods, and their understanding of how they affect physical activity.

Spatial clustering of physical activity and obesity in relation to built environment factors among older women in three U.S. states.

Background: Identifying spatial clusters of chronic diseases has been conducted over the past several decades. More recently these approaches have been applied to physical activity and obesity. However, few studies have investigated built environment characteristics in relation to these spatial clusters.

Factorial validity of an abbreviated neighborhood environment walkability scale for seniors in the Nurses' Health Study.

Background: Using validated measures of individuals' perceptions of their neighborhood built environment is important for accurately estimating effects on physical activity. However, no studies to date have examined the factorial validity of a measure of perceived neighborhood environment among older adults in the United States. The purpose of this measurement study was to test the factorial validity of a version of the Abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS-A) modified for seniors in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS).

Development and psychometric testing of the Dogs and WalkinG Survey (DAWGS).

Purpose: Dog owners represent 40% of the population, a promising audience to increase population levels of physical activity. The purpose of this study was to develop and test the psychometric properties of a new instrument to assess social-cognitive theory constructs related to dog walking.

Method: Dog owners (N = 431) completed the Dogs and WalkinG Survey (DAWGS).

Relationships between the built environment and walking and weight status among older women in three U.S. States.

There are few studies of built environment associations with physical activity and weight status among older women in large geographic areas that use individual residential buffers to define environmental exposures. Among 23,434 women (70.0 ± 6.

Virtual and actual: relative accuracy of on-site and web-based instruments in auditing the environment for physical activity.

Objectives: To assess the relative accuracy and usefulness of web tools in evaluating and measuring street-scale built environment characteristics.

Methods: A well-known audit tool was used to evaluate 84 street segments at the urban edge of metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts, using on-site visits and three web-based tools. The assessments were compared to evaluate their relative accuracy and usefulness.

Urban sprawl, physical activity, and body mass index: Nurses' Health Study and Nurses' Health Study II.

Objectives: We evaluated the association between the county sprawl index, a measure of residential density and street accessibility, and physical activity and body mass index (BMI).

Methods: We conducted a multilevel cross-sectional analysis in a sample of Nurses' Health Study participants living throughout the United States in 2000 to 2001 (n = 136 592).

Results: In analyses adjusted for age, smoking status, race, and husband's education, a 1-SD (25.

Perceived built environment and physical activity in U.S. women by sprawl and region.

Background: A number of studies have demonstrated relationships between the perceived built environment and physical activity among adults. However, little is known about whether these associations differ by U.S.

Trails and physical activity: a review.

Purpose: To provide a synthesis of research on trails and physical activity from the public health, leisure sciences, urban planning, and transportation literatures.

Methods: A search of databases was conducted to identify studies published between 1980 and 2008.

Results: 52 studies were identified.

The built environment and location-based physical activity.

Background: Studies of the built environment and physical activity have implicitly assumed that a substantial amount of activity occurs near home, but in fact the location is unknown.

Purpose: This study aims to examine associations between built environment variables within home and work buffers and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) occurring within these locations.

Methods: Adults (n=148) from Massachusetts wore an accelerometer and GPS unit for up to 4 days.

Reliability of a brief intercept survey for trail use behaviors.

Purpose: This study assessed test-retest reliability of an interviewer-administered trail survey.

Methods: An intercept survey was conducted with adults using 2 paved trails in Indiana and South Carolina (N = 295; mean age = 46.9 +/- 18 y).