and Specific Aims of the Funded Parent Grant/Project Physical activity (PA) helps prevent obesity and reduce the risk of cancer as well as other chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. PA can be promoted through environmental/policy interventions at the population level. However, existing empirical knowledge on environment-PA relationships is primarily based on cross-sectional studies, which provide insufficient control of extraneous factors for investigating causal relationships. Further, little is known about how environmental factors affect spatial (where) and temporal (when) patterns of PA and the underlying mechanisms (why) of such impacts, including potential mediating effects of the psychosocial factors. The objective of the Physical Activity Impacts of a Planned Activity study is to examine both short-term and long-term changes in PA after residents move to the Mueller community, which is an activity-friendly community (AFC). For this study, AFC?s are defined as man-made surroundings that provide a setting for human activity including parks and greens spaces within the residential area. It utilizes a unique and fleeting opportunity with ~3000 new homes being built in a large planned AFC over the next ~3 years. The focus is on those who are currently sedentary or insufficiently active and living in an environment lacking support for PA. Case participants (n~350) are adults moving from non-AFCs to this AFC and not meeting the CDC guidelines for PA at pre-move baseline. Each case participant will be matched based on gender and age (5 years) with a comparison participant who lives in his/her pre-move non-AFC, is also sedentary or insufficiently active, and is not planning to move for at least two years (the project's follow- up measurement period).
The specific aims of this proposed study are to 1) examine the short-term and long-term changes in total PA levels (weekly minutes) and in spatial and temporal patterns of PA (proportion of PA taking place within the community, proportion of walking out of total PA, and level of PA integration into daily routines) after sedentary or insufficiently active individuals move from non- AFCs to an AFC; and 2) determine what built and natural environmental factors (e.g., density, land uses, sidewalks, trails/paths, parks, water features) lead to changes in PA among these populations, either directly or indirectly by affecting psychosocial factors related to PA. Using this timely opportunity to gain longitudinal assessments for this natural experiment is of critical importance to advancing the status of knowledge on the intersection of health and place as it relates to promoting PA. The multidisciplinary research team has extensive experience related to this topic and with this study community through pilot work. At this study?s conclusion, we will have identified stronger evidence supporting the impact of an AFC on population-level behavior changes toward more physically active lifestyles (short-term goal) and toward lessening the burden of obesity throughout the nation (long-term goal).
(from 1R01CA197761) The growing problem of obesity in the US calls for innovative environmental/policy approaches to reduce major risk factors such as physical inactivity at the population level. This study will examine how an activity friendly community, which embodies the best practices in environmental design and policy, can increase residents' levels of physical activity and influence when and where they are physically active. It will also provide insights into why environmental and psychosocial factors influence physical activity, and how place impacts lifestyle behaviors related to the burden of obesity.
