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Parent Perceptions of Neighborhood: Relationships with US Youth Physical Activity and Weight Status

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Abstract

Context is important for understanding and making change to improve health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between parent perceptions of neighborhood and youth aerobic physical activity and weight. This study is a secondary data analysis of 64,076 parents and guardians of children and adolescents (6–17 years) participating in the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between neighborhood characteristics, including constructs for social capital, physical condition, resource availability, and safety, and youth likelihood of meeting healthy standards for physical activity and weight. Neighborhood characteristics, including social capital, resource availability, and safety were significantly associated with increased likelihood of youth achieving healthy physical activity and normal weight parameters even with adjustment for individual and family-level demographic and behavioral characteristics. Findings support neighborhood assessment during behavioral counseling and continued exploration of neighborhood context as a means to positively impact youth physical activity and weight outcomes.

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Acknowledgments

This journal article was supported in part by the Adolescent Health Protection Program (School of Nursing, University of Minnesota) grant number T01-DP000112 (PI: Bearinger) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC.

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The authors have no conflicts of interest and no financial disclosures to report.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Adolescent Nursing, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, 5-140 Weaver-Densford Hall, 308 Harvard Street SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Naomi N. Duke & Sandra L. Pettingell

  2. Division of Academic General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, University of Minnesota, 3rd Floor West, 717 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA

    Naomi N. Duke & Iris W. Borowsky

  3. Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota, 909 Social Sciences, 267 19th Ave South, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Naomi N. Duke

Authors
  1. Naomi N. Duke
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  2. Iris W. Borowsky
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Correspondence to Naomi N. Duke.

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Duke, N.N., Borowsky, I.W. & Pettingell, S.L. Parent Perceptions of Neighborhood: Relationships with US Youth Physical Activity and Weight Status. Matern Child Health J 16, 149–157 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-010-0731-3

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