Are Safety-Related Features of the Road Environment Associated with Smaller Declines in Physical Activity among Youth?
Open accessAbstract
This study examined how objective measures of the local road environment related to safety were associated with change in physical activity (including active transport) among youth. Few longitudinal studies have examined the impact of the road environment on physical activity among children/adolescents in their neighborhoods. Participants were children aged 8-9 years (n = 170) and adolescents aged 13-15 years (n = 276) in 2004. Data were collected in 2004 and 2006 during follow-up of participants recruited initially in 2001 from 19 primary schools in Melbourne, Australia. Walking/cycling to local destinations was parent-reported for children and self-reported by adolescents. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during nonschool hours was recorded using accelerometers. Road environment features in each participant's neighborhood (area within 800 m radius of their home) were measured objectively using a Geographical Information System. Linear regression analyses examined associations between road features and changes in active transport (AT) and MVPA over 2 years. Children's AT increased but MVPA levels decreased in both age groups; on average, younger girls recorded the greatest declines. The number of traffic/pedestrian lights was associated with DeltaAT among younger girls (B=0.45, p=0.004). The total length of walking tracks (in meters) was associated with AT among younger girls (B = 0.0016, p = 0.015) and adolescent girls (B = 0.0016, p = 0.002). For adolescent boys, intersection density was associated with AT (B = 0.03, p = 0.030). Slow points were associated with MVPA among younger boys before school (B = 1.55, p = 0.021), while speed humps were associated with MVPA among adolescent boys after school (B = 0.23, p = 0.015). There were many associations for adolescent girls: for example, the total length of local roads (B = 0.49, p = 0.005), intersection density (B = 0.05, p = 0.036), and number of speed humps (B = 0.33, p = 0.020) were associated with MVPA during nonschool hours. Safety-related aspects of the built environment are conducive to physical activity among youth and may help stem age-related declines in physical activity. Passive road safety interventions may promote AT and physical activity among less active girls, in particular.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In an Australian cohort, the extent of sidewalks and walking paths near home was positively correlated with changes in active commuting over time in both age groups in girls but not in boys.
“In the Australian cohort, the extent of sidewalks and walking paths near home was positively correlated with changes in active commuting over time in both age groups in girls but not in boys362; however, these findings were not adjusted for covariates.”
From Population Approaches to Improve Diet, Physical Activity, and Smoking Habits: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association (2012) · cites this paper as [362]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (1983) · Cited by 79,888 · see citing works
‘Small Changes' to Diet and Physical Activity Behaviors for Weight Management
Hills, A. P., Byrne, N. M., Lindstrom, R. C., & Hill, J. O. (2013) · Obesity Facts · doi:10.1159/000345030 · Cited by 9,526 · see citing works
A review of correlates of physical activity of children and adolescents
SALLIS, J. F., PROCHASKA, J. J., & TAYLOR, W. C. (2000) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1097/00005768-200005000-00014 · Cited by 4,421 · see citing works
Saelens, B. E., Sallis, J. F., & Frank, L. D. (2003) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1207/s15324796abm2502_03 · Cited by 2,285 · see citing works
World report on child injury prevention
(2009) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.47-0325 · Cited by 1,160 · see citing works
World report on child injury prevention
Sminkey, L. (2008) · Injury Prevention · doi:10.1136/ip.2007.018143 · Cited by 1,157 · see citing works
Environmental correlates of physical activity in youth – a review and update
Ferreira, I., Van Der Horst, K., Wendel‐Vos, W., Kremers, S., Van Lenthe, F. J., & Brug, J. (2007) · Obesity Reviews · doi:10.1111/j.1467-789x.2006.00264.x · Cited by 993 · see citing works
Davison, K. K., & Lawson, C. T. (2006) · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · doi:10.1186/1479-5868-3-19 · Cited by 966 · see citing works
Pucher, J. R., & Dijkstra, L. (2003) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.93.9.1509 · Cited by 845 · see citing works
One False Move...: A Study of Children's Independent Mobility
Hillman, M., Adams, J., & Whitelegg, J. (1991) · OpenGrey (Institut de l'Information Scientifique et Technique) · Cited by 815 · see citing works
Perceptions about the local neighborhood and walking and cycling among children
Timperio, A. F. (2003) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2003.09.026 · Cited by 751 · see citing works
Self-citationPlaying it safe: The influence of neighbourhood safety on children's physical activity—A review
Carver, A., Timperio, A. F., & Crawford, D. A. (2007) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2007.06.004 · Cited by 739 · see citing works
Self-citationVeitch, J., Bagley, S., Ball, K., & Salmon, J. (2005) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2005.02.009 · Cited by 632 · see citing works
Karsten, L. (2005) · Children s Geographies · doi:10.1080/14733280500352912 · Cited by 547 · see citing works
Environmental determinants of active travel in youth: A review and framework for future research
Panter, J. R., Jones, A. P., & van Sluijs, E. M. (2008) · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · doi:10.1186/1479-5868-5-34 · Cited by 524 · see citing works
Travel choices in pedestrian versus automobile oriented neighborhoods
Cervero, R., & Radisch, C. (1996) · Transport Policy · doi:10.1016/0967-070x(96)00016-9 · Cited by 493 · see citing works
Raitakan, O. T., Porkka, K., TAIMELA, S. P., Telama, R., Räsänen, L., & Vllkari, J. S. (1994) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a117239 · Cited by 443 · see citing works
Kimm, S. Y. S., Glynn, N. W., Obarzanek, E., Kriska, A. M., Daniels, S. R., BARTON, B. A., & Liu, K. (2005) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)66837-7 · Cited by 399 · see citing works
Correlates of physical activity at home in Mexican-American and Anglo-American preschool children.
Sallis, J. F., Nader, P. R., Broyles, S. L., Berry, C. C., Elder, J. P., McKenzie, T. L., & Nelson, J. A. (1993) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037//0278-6133.12.5.390 · Cited by 377 · see citing works
Vilhjálmsson, R., & Kristjánsdóttir, G. (2002) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(02)00042-4 · Cited by 313 · see citing works
Prezza, M., Pilloni, S., Morabito, C., et al. (2001) · Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/casp.643 · Cited by 291 · see citing works
Measuring Network Connectivity for Bicycling and Walking
Dill, J. (2004) · Cited by 284 · see citing works
Correlates of physical activity at home in Mexican-American and Anglo-American preschool children.
Sallis, J. F., Nader, P. R., Broyles, S. L., et al. (1993) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/0278-6133.12.5.390 · Cited by 269 · see citing works
Telford, A., Salmon, J., Jolley, D., & Crawford, D. A. (2004) · Pediatric Exercise Science · doi:10.1123/pes.16.1.64 · Cited by 261 · see citing works
Self-citationKlesges, R. C., Eck, L. H., Hanson, C. L., Haddock, C. K., & al, E. (1990) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037//0278-6133.9.4.435 · Cited by 244 · see citing works
A League Table of Child Deaths by Injury in Rich Nations
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre (2001) · Innocenti report card · doi:10.18356/b07aeb6f-en · Cited by 230 · see citing works
Salmon, J., Timperio, A. F., Cleland, V. J., & Venn, A. (2005) · Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1111/j.1467-842x.2005.tb00204.x · Cited by 185 · see citing works
Self-citationDavison, K. K., Werder, J. L., Trost, S. G., Baker, B. L., & Birch, L. L. (2007) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.02.033 · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Parental Influences on Toddlers' Injury-Risk Behaviors
Morrongiello, B. A., & Dawber, T. (1999) · Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1016/s0193-3973(99)00015-5 · Cited by 172 · see citing works
The Amsterdam growth study : a longitudinal analysis of health, fitness, and lifestyle
Kemper, H. C. G. (1995) · Human Kinetics eBooks · Cited by 159 · see citing works
Boreham, C. A. G., Twisk, J. W. R., Neville, C. E., Savage, M., Murray, L., & Gallagher, A. M. (2002) · International Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1055/s-2002-28457 · Cited by 158 · see citing works
Klesges, R. C., Eck, L. H., Hanson, C. L., et al. (1990) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/0278-6133.9.4.435 · Cited by 155 · see citing works
Guillaume, M., Lapidus, L., Björntorp, P. A., & Lambert, A. E. (1997) · Obesity Research · doi:10.1002/j.1550-8528.1997.tb00576.x · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Huang, Y., Wong, S. H., & Salmon, J. (2009) · Pediatric Exercise Science · doi:10.1123/pes.21.3.339 · Cited by 148 · see citing works
Tester, J. M., Rutherford, G. W., Wald, Z., et al. (2004) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.94.4.646 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Changes in Sedentary Behavior among Adolescent Girls: A 2.5-Year Prospective Cohort Study
Hardy, L. L., Bass, S. L., & Booth, M. L. (2006) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2006.09.009 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Neighborhood Road Environments and Physical Activity Among Youth: The CLAN Study
Carver, A., Timperio, A. F., & Crawford, D. A. (2008) · Journal of Urban Health · doi:10.1007/s11524-008-9284-9 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Self-citationKatzmarzyk, P. T., Malina, R. M., & Bouchard, C. (1999) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1006/pmed.1999.0592 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Mullan, E. (2003) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/s1353-8292(02)00069-2 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Tan-Dy, C. (1999) · Geographical Research · doi:10.1111/1467-8470.00076 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Telford, A., Salmon, J., Timperio, A. F., & Crawford, D. A. (2005) · Pediatric Exercise Science · doi:10.1123/pes.17.3.266 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Self-citationRelationship of physical activity, body fat, diet, and blood lipid profile in youths 10-15 yr.
Suter, E., & Hawes, M. R. (1993) · PubMed · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Child road safety in the urban environment
Petch, R. O., & Henson, R. (2000) · Journal of Transport Geography · doi:10.1016/s0966-6923(00)00006-5 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Physical Activity and Skeletal Health in Adolescents
Bailey, D. A., & Martín, A. (1994) · Pediatric Exercise Science · doi:10.1123/pes.6.4.330 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
GIELEN, A. C. (2004) · Journal of Heredity · doi:10.1093/jurban/jth139 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Measuring exposure to injury risk in schoolchildren aged 11-14
Towner, E., Jarvis, S. N., Walsh, S. S. M., et al. (1994) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.308.6926.449 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
LIVING ON THE EDGE: CHILDREN AS ‘OUTSIDERS’
MATTHEWS, H. (1995) · Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9663.1995.tb01867.x · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Exposure to traffic among urban children injured as pedestrians
Posner, J. C., Liao, E., Winston, F. K., et al. (2002) · Injury Prevention · doi:10.1136/ip.8.3.231 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Adolescents in Xi’an City, China
Li, M., Dibley, M. J., Sibbritt, D. W., Zhou, X., & Yan, H. (2007) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.02.005 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Vermorel, M., Vernet, J., Bitar, A., Fellmann, N., & Coudert, J. (2002) · European Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601395 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Adolescence: Prevalence and Familial Aggregation
Rabbia, F., Veglio, F., Pinna, G. D., et al. (1994) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1006/pmed.1994.1138 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Childhood pedestrian injuries in the Perth metropolitan area
Stevenson, M., Lo, S. K., Laing, B. A., et al. (1992) · The Medical Journal of Australia · doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.1992.tb139739.x · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Cost effective ways to make walking safer for children and adolescents.
Preston, B. (1995) · Injury Prevention · doi:10.1136/ip.1.3.187 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Strunk, S. L. (2009) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2009.09.018 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Schofield, G., Walmsely, H., Mummery, K. W., et al. (2002) · ACHPER healthy lifestyles journal · Cited by 17 · see citing works
ACCELEROMETER (CSA) COUNT CUT POINTS FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTENSITY RANGES IN YOUTH 413
Dowda, M. C., Pate, R. R., Sallis, J. F., et al. (1997) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1097/00005768-199705001-00412 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Tranter P, Doyle J. Reclaiming the residential street as play space. Int Play J. 1996; 4: 91- 97.
- Raitakari O, Porkka K, Taimela S, Telama R, Rasanen L, Viikari J. Effects of persistent physical activity and inactivity on coronary risk factors in children and young adults. Am J Epidemiol. 1994; 140: 195-205.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Mozaffarian, D., Afshin, A., Benowitz, N. L., Bittner, V., Daniels, S. R., Franch, H. A., Jacobs, D. R., Kraus, W. E., Kris-Etherton, P. M., Krummel, D. A., et al. (2012) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/cir.0b013e318260a20b · Cited by 601 · see citing works
Risk of Solid Cancer after Treatment of Testicular Germ Cell Cancer in the Platinum Era
Groot, H. J., Lubberts, S., de Wit, R., Witjes, J. A., Kerst, J. M., de Jong, I. J., Groenewegen, G., van den Eertwegh, A. J. M., Poortmans, P. M., Klümpen, H.-J., et al. (2018) · Journal of Clinical Oncology · doi:10.1200/jco.2017.77.4174 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Hou, N., Popkin, B. M., Jacobs Jr., D. R., Song, Y., Guilkey, D., Lewis, C. E., & Gordon-Larsen, P. (2010) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2010.08.005 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
- Authors
- Carver, A., Timperio, A., Hesketh, K., & Crawford, D.
- Affiliations
- Deakin University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Carver, Alison
- Venue
- Journal of Urban Health
- Published
- 2009-12-01
- Volume
- 87
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 29-43
- ISSN
- 0028-7091 (ISSN-L)
- 1099-3460
- 1468-2869
- PMC
- PMC2821603
- OpenAlex
- W2084312844
- Cited by
- 106
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 14.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Journal of Urban Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Heart Foundation of Australia
- Medical Research Council
- National Health and Medical Research Council (274309)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Transportation › Urban Transport and Accessibility
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Urban Green Space and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Keywords
- road environment, built environment, children's physical activity, active transport, road safety, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, children, adolescents, walking, cycling, speed humps, intersection density, walking trails, sex differences, neighborhood safety, accelerometry, school-based cohort
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Bicycling, Child, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Motor Activity, Residence Characteristics, Safety, Schools, Victoria, Exercise, Linear Models, Walking, Sex Distribution, Geographic Information Systems
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
