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
. 2012 Mar 27:9:33.
doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-9-33.

The perception of the neighborhood environment changes after participation in a pedometer based community intervention

Birgit Wallmann  1 , Heleen Spittaels, Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij, Ingo Froboese
Affiliations

The perception of the neighborhood environment changes after participation in a pedometer based community intervention

Birgit Wallmann et al. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. .

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the perception of the neighbourhood environment alters when changing the physical activity behaviour through a pedometer intervention.

Findings: The intervention was implemented for 15 weeks in a small village in Germany, and was based on the individual baseline activity level. Eighty-two inhabitants participated in the study and completed an environmental questionnaire before and after the intervention. Results showed that after the intervention the participants perceived a lower distance to local facilities, a higher availability of bike lanes and infrastructures, a better maintenance of infrastructure, a better network and a safer traffic situation.

Conclusion: This suggests that a change in the levels of physical activity merges the levels of exposure to the environment which results in different environmental perceptions.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Sallis JF, Bowles HR, Bauman A, Ainsworth BE, Bull FC, Craig CL, Sjostrom M, De Bourdeaudhuij I, Lefevre J, Matsudo V. et al.Neighborhood environments and physical activity among adults in 11 countries. Am J Prev Med. 2009;36:484–490. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2009.01.031. - DOI - PubMed
    1. McGinn AP, Evenson KR, Herring AH, Huston SL, Rodriguez DA. Exploring associations between physical activity and perceived and objective measures of the built environment. J Urban Health. 2007;84:162–184. doi: 10.1007/s11524-006-9136-4. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Duncan MJ, Spence JC, Mummery WK. Perceived environment and physical activity: a meta-analysis of selected environmental characteristics. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2005;2:11. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-2-11. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sallis JF, Cervero RB, Ascher W, Henderson KA, Kraft MK, Kerr J. An ecological approach to creating active living communities. Annu Rev Public Health. 2006;27:297–322. doi: 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.27.021405.102100. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brownson RC, Hoehner CM, Day K, Forsyth A, Sallis JF. Measuring the built environment for physical activity: state of the science. Am J Prev Med. 2009;36:S99–S123.e112. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2009.01.005. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources