Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2007 Aug-Sep;45(2-3):163-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2007.06.001. Epub 2007 Jun 7.

Commercial venues as supports for physical activity in adolescent girls

Marsha Dowda  1 , Thomas L McKenzie, Deborah A Cohen, Molly M Scott, Kelly R Evenson, Ariane L Bedimo-Rung, Carolyn C Voorhees, Maria J C A Almeida
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Commercial venues as supports for physical activity in adolescent girls

Marsha Dowda et al. Prev Med. 2007 Aug-Sep.

Abstract

Objective: The purposes of this study were to describe the types and availability of commercial facilities for physical activity (PA) in six diverse geographic areas (Washington DC and Maryland; South Carolina; Minnesota; Louisiana; Arizona; and California) and to assess the relationship between those facilities and the non-school PA of adolescent girls.

Methods: A total of 1556 6th grade girls participating in the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG) wore accelerometers for 7 days providing 6 days of complete data, completed questionnaires in 2003 and had their residential addresses geocoded. Nearby commercial facilities available to provide PA (i.e. dance studios, youth organizations) within a 1-mile radius of participants' residences were identified and geocoded. The association between the presence of any commercial PA facility and girls' PA was determined using a multi-level design and controlling for demographic characteristics and other potential confounders. Analyses were conducted in 2005-2006.

Results: Sixty-eight percent of the girls had at least one commercial PA facility near their homes. Availability and types of commercial PA facilities differed by where participants lived. Girls who lived near one or more commercial PA facilities had higher non-school MET-weighted moderate-to-vigorous PA than girls who had none near their homes.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that commercial PA facilities are important contributors to the accumulation of PA among adolescent girls.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Aaron DJ, Storti KL, Robertson RJ, Kriska AM, Laporte RE. Longitudinal study of the number and choice of leisure time physical activities from mid to late adolescence: implications for school curricula and community recreation programs. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156:1075–1080. - PubMed
    1. Booth KM, Pinkston MM, Poston WSC. Obesity and the built environment. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005;105:S110–S117. - PubMed
    1. Bradley CB, McMurray RG, Harrell JS, Deng S. Changes in common activities of 3rd through 10th graders: the CHIC study. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000;32:2071–2078. - PubMed
    1. Catellier DJ, Hannan PJ, Murray DM, Addy CL, Conway TL, Yang S, Rice JC. Imputation of missing data when measuring physical activity by accelerometry. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2005;37:S555–S562. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control Prevention. Guidelines for school and community programs to promote lifelong physical activity among young people. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1997;46(RR6):1–36. - PubMed

Publication types