Physical activity of adolescents and the urban environment of Brazilian capitals: National School Health Survey, 2015

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to evaluate the practice of physical activity (PA) among adolescents and its association with characteristics of the urban environment of Brazilian capitals. Study with adolescents from the 26 Brazilian capitals and the Federal District participating in the National School Health Survey, 2015 edition. The association between regular practice of PA (≥300 minutes/week) and the dimensions of urban well-being (urban mobility, urban environmental conditions, urban housing conditions, urban collective services, and urban infrastructure) was examined using multilevel logistic regression. A total of 50,904 adolescents were evaluated, among which 20.7% were active. It was observed in the multiple model that adolescents who live in capitals with better urban environmental conditions, such as the presence of tree coverage, less open sewage, and less accumulated garbage around the houses, are more likely to be active (OR = 1.06; 95% CI:1.01;1.12). Adolescents who live in cities with less urban disorder are more likely to be active.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescent
• physical activity
• urban health
• built environment
• epidemiological survey

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in:

1) National School Health Survey:

[IBGE] Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. 2016b. Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar 2015. Downloads dos microdados. https://www.ibge.gov.br/estatisticas/downloads-estatisticas.html?caminho=pense/2015/microdados/

2) Gini coefficient:

[IBGE] Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. 2010. Índice de Gini da renda domiciliar per capita. Censo Demográfico 2010. http://tabnet.datasus.gov.br/cgi/idb2011/b09capc.htm

3) The five dimensions of urban well-being in the 26 state capitals and the Federal District:

[ODM] Observatório das Metrópoles. 2016. IBEU Municipal: Índice de bem-estar urbano dos municípios brasileiros. https://ibeu.observatoriodasmetropoles.net.br/

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.