Unit 1

Environmental Influences on Physical Activity Levels

Objectives

• To gain an understanding of how environments influence people’s level of physical activity.
• To understand the need for planners, educators, and policy makers to cooperate in developing living environments that positively influence physical activity behaviors.

Focus Questions

1. What are environmental factors that influence you to be more or less active?
2. What physical changes in your environment would facilitate people being more active?

Concepts

• Behavioral settings
• Environmental interventions

Readings

Environmental determinants of physical activity and sedentary behavior

(Acrobat .pdf 113Kb file) Owen, N., Leslie, E., Salmon, J., & Fotheringham, M.J. (2000). American College of Sports Medicine 28 (4), 153-158.

Walkable Neighborhoods

Link opens new browser window.

State-based Physical Activity Program Directory

Oregon Health Division report. Link opens new browser window.

Lecture Introduction

Physical inactivity is very prevalent in our culture and is considered a major risk factor for many chronic diseases. Because of this, researchers have traditionally examined how best to motivate and train individuals to become and maintain physically active lifestyles. Individual factors such as physiology, psychology, social and cultural circumstances and how they might influence a person’s activity levels have been studied extensively. Only recently have researchers begun to study the environment that people live in and how that may be a factor in an individual’s ability to be active.

The ecological model of behavior examines the interaction of people with their physical and sociocultural environments. Specifically, the behavioral setting, or the contexts in which social and physical behaviors occur are analyzed. Think about your own workplace. If you work in an office, how does the environment there allow for or prohibit physical activity? Rather than hand deliver memos, we now distribute electronic notices. Most work and communication can be done from behind the desk and very little movement is required to accomplish the job tasks. The advent of labor saving devices have further modified even more physical jobs to limit the amount of physical activity. Think about leaf blowers, riding mowers, electric equipment. So, how could we change the behavior setting to promote activity?

Environments can influence behavior by promoting or mandating some actions (e.g., bike trails and parks) and prohibiting or restricting other actions (e.g. “Don’t Walk” and “No Bikes” signs). Public policies can also encourage activity by providing incentive programs such as insurance discounts for physically active people, requiring showers in workplaces of a certain size, or earmarking monies for bike and walking trails.

The Oregon Health Division has developed a report that tracks physical activity levels in community members using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (See website address for the report under Readings section). Several recommendations are made to increase physical activity levels of Oregonians through the Active Community Environments (ACE) programs.

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance, a nonprofit group based in Portland, assessed 22 Oregon cities on their bikeways, paths, lanes, and legal and planning policies for bike use. Find their “grades” for these cities in the lecture notes. Flat tire awards were given to the worst cities.