Dataset Information

Parent perceptions of neighborhood safety and children's physical activity, sedentary behavior, and obesity: evidence from a national longitudinal study.

ABSTRACT: We examined the relationship between parent-perceived neighborhood safety and children's physical activity, sedentary behavior, body mass, and obesity status using 9 years of longitudinal data (1999-2007) on a cohort of approximately 19,000 US kindergartners from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. Children's height and weight measurements and parent perceptions of neighborhood safety were available in kindergarten and in the first, third, fifth, and eighth grades. Dependent variables included age- and gender-specific body mass index percentile, obesity status, and parent- or child-reported weekly physical activity and television-watching. Pooled cross-sectional and within-child longitudinal regression models that controlled for child, family, and school characteristics were fitted. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal models indicated that children whose parents perceived their neighborhoods as unsafe watched more television and participated in less physical activity, although the magnitude of this association was much weaker in longitudinal models. However, there was no significant association between parent-perceived neighborhood safety and children's body mass index.

SUBMITTER: Datar A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3649633 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Parent perceptions of neighborhood safety and children's physical activity, sedentary behavior, and obesity: evidence from a national longitudinal study.

Datar Ashlesha A Nicosia Nancy N Shier Victoria V

American journal of epidemiology 20130411 10

We examined the relationship between parent-perceived neighborhood safety and children's physical activity, sedentary behavior, body mass, and obesity status using 9 years of longitudinal data (1999-2007) on a cohort of approximately 19,000 US kindergartners from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. Children's height and weight measurements and parent perceptions of neighborhood safety were available in kindergarten and in the first, third, fifth, and eighth grades. Dependent variables includ ...[more]

PMID: 23579555

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Despite physical activity (PA) being recognized as a critically important factor for good physical and mental health already early in life and throughout the life course, prospective data on activity behavior during the preschool years remains scarce. This study examined trajectories and determinants of levels and change in total PA (TPA), moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in a representative sample of Swiss preschoolers. METHODS:Data were drawn from the Swiss Preschoolers' Health Study (SPLASHY), a multi-site prospective cohort study including 555 children (53% boys) aged 2-to-6 years at baseline. A follow-up was conducted after 12 months. Activity behavior was measured using accelerometers. Information on 35 potential determinants from different socio-ecological domains was either directly measured or parent-reported. Trajectories of TPA, MVPA and SB over time were described for boys and girls. Linear mixed models were used to investigate factors that predicted levels and change in TPA, MVPA and SB. RESULTS:All children were sufficiently physically active according to published recommendations for preschoolers. Trajectory profiles revealed a marked increase in TPA and MVPA in boys and girls whereas SB remained fairly stable over time. Mixed modeling demonstrated that variables most relevant to determining PA levels were sex, age and activity temperament (all positively associated). Together with gross motor skills, birth weight, family structure (only for TPA) and season (only for MVPA), these factors accounted for 26 and 32% of total variance explained in TPA and MVPA, respectively. Activity temperament emerged as the strongest determinant of SB (negative association) and explained with sex, season and family structure 20% of total variance in SB. The presence of older siblings was the only factor that predicted change in PA over time. CONCLUSIONS:In this healthy physically active cohort of preschoolers, non-modifiable individual-level factors had the greatest influence on PA. The limited success of this and previous studies to identify modifiable determinants and the finding that most preschoolers were sufficiently active suggest that future attempts should provide insights into how preschoolers' activity levels can be maintained and fostered to prevent subsequent harmful declines attributable, amongst others, to educational transitions. Thus, good-quality longitudinal studies are needed. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN41045021 (date of registration: 21.03.14).

Project description:The worldwide prevalence of mental disorders in children and adolescents increased constantly. Additionally, the recommended amount of physical activity (PA) is not achieved by this age group. These circumstances are associated with negative impacts on their health status in later life and can lead to public health issues. The exposure to natural green environments (NGE) seems to be beneficial for human health. The compulsory school system offers great opportunities to reach every child with suitable health-related contents and interventions at an early stage. The concept of Education Outside the Classroom (EOtC) uses NGE and sets focus on PA. Therefore, EOtC might be a beneficial educational intervention to promote students health. The association between biological stress markers and sedentary behavior (SB) plus PA is insufficiently evaluated in school settings. This exploratory study aims to evaluate the association between students' cortisol, plus circulating cell-free deoxyribonucleic acid (cfDNA) levels, and their SB, light PA (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). We assessed data from an EOtC program (intervention group [IG], n = 37; control group [CG], n = 11) in three seasons (fall/spring/summer) in outdoor lessons (IG) in a NGE and normal indoor lessons (CG). SB and PA were evaluated by accelerometry, and cortisol and cfDNA levels by saliva samples. Fitted Bayesian hierarchical linear models evaluated the association between cortisol and cfDNA, and compositional SB/LPA/MVPA. A steady decline of cortisol in the IG is associated with relatively high levels of LPA (posterior mean = -0.728; credible interval [CRI 95%]: -1.268; -0.190). SB and MVPA tended to exhibit a similar effect in the CG. A high amount of cfDNA is positively associated with a relatively high amount of SB in the IG (posterior mean, 1.285; CRI: 0.390; 2.191), the same association is likely for LPA and MVPA in both groups. To conclude, LPA seems to support a healthy cortisol decrease in children during outdoor lessons in NGEs. Associations between cfDNA and SB/PA need to be evaluated in further research. This study facilitates the formulation of straightforward and directed hypotheses for further research with a focus on the potential health promotion of EOtC.

Dataset Information

Parent perceptions of neighborhood safety and children's physical activity, sedentary behavior, and obesity: evidence from a national longitudinal study.

Publications

Parent perceptions of neighborhood safety and children's physical activity, sedentary behavior, and obesity: evidence from a national longitudinal study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure