Cited by 994Physical Activity and HealthObesity, Physical Activity, DietUrban Transport and Accessibility

Environmental correlates of physical activity in youth – a review and update

Open access
Ferreira, I., Van Der Horst, K., Wendel‐Vos, W., Kremers, S., Van Lenthe, F. J., Brug, J.·2007·Obesity Reviews

Abstract

Summary: Obesogenic environments are thought to underlie the increased obesity prevalence observed in youth during the past decades. Understanding the environmental factors that are associated with physical activity (PA) in youth is needed to better inform the development of effective intervention strategies attempting to halt the obesity epidemic. We conducted a systematic semi‐quantitative review of 150 studies on environmental correlates of youth PA published in the past 25 years. The ANalysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO) framework was used to classify the environmental correlates studied. Most studies retrieved used cross‐sectional designs and subjective measures of environmental factors and PA. Variables of the home and school environments were especially associated with children’s PA. Most consistent positive correlates of PA were father’s PA, time spent outdoors and school PA‐related policies (in children), and support from significant others, mother’s education level, family income, and non‐vocational school attendance (in adolescents). Low crime incidence (in adolescents) was characteristic of the neighbourhood environment associated with higher PA. Convincing evidence of an important role for many other environmental factors was, however, not found. Further research should aim at longitudinal and intervention studies, and use more objective measures of PA and its potential (environmental) determinants.

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.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1111/j.1467-789x.2006.00264.x

Cites

244 of 244 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

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?

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

Part of this paper’s reference list could not be split into single entries.

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 14

  1. 1467789x, 2007, 2, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2006.00264.x, Wiley Online Library on [17/08/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
  2. Nutbeam D, Aar L, Catford J. Understanding children's health behaviour: the implications for health promotion for young people. Soc Sci Med 1989; 29: 317-325.
  3. Brug J, Oenema A, Ferreira I. Theory, evidence and Interven- tion Mapping to improve behavioral nutrition and physical activ- ity interventions. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2005; 2: e2.
  4. Flay BR, Petraitis J. The theory of triadic influence: a new theory of health behavior with implications for preventive inter- ventions. Adv Med Sociol 1994; 4: 4-19.
  5. Stroup DF, Berlin JA, Morton SC, Olkin I, Williamson GD, Rennie D, Mohner D, Becker BJ, Sipe TA, Thacker SB. Meta- analysis of observational studies in epidemiology: a proposal for reporting. Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiol- ogy (MOOSE) group. JAMA 2000; 283: 2008-2012.
  6. US Department of Health and Human Services. Guidelines for School and Community Programs to Promote Lifelong Physical Activity Among Young People. US Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MMWR 1997; 46: 1-36.
  7. 1467789x, 2007, 2, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2006.00264.x, Wiley Online Library on [17/08/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
  8. Gordon-Larsen P, McMurray RG, Popkin BM. Determinants of adolescent physical activity and inactivity patterns. Pediatrics 2000; 105: e83.
  9. Hofstetter RC, Hovell MF, Sallis JF, Zakarian J, Beirich H, Mulvihill M, Emerson J. Exposure to sports mass media and physical activity characteristics among ethnically diverse adoles- cents. Med Exerc Nutr Health 1995; 4: 234-242.
  10. * Hovell MF, Kolody B, Sallis JF, Black DR. Parent support, physical activity, and correlates of adiposity in nine year olds: an exploratory study. J Health Educ 1996; 27: 126-129.
  11. * Klesges RC, Malott JM, Boschee PF, Weber JM. The effects of parental influences on children's food intake, physical activity, and relative weight. Int J Eat Disord 1986; 5: 335-346.
  12. Kristjansdottir G, Vilhjalmsson R. Sociodemographic differ- ences in patterns of sedentary and physically active behavior in older children and adolescents. Acta Paediatr 2001; 90: 429-435.
  13. Lindquist CH, Reynolds KD, Goran MI. Sociocultural deter- minants of physical activity among children. Prev Med 1999; 29: 305-312.
  14. McMurray RG, Harrell JS, Bangdiwala SI, Gansky SA. Bio- logic and environmental factors influencing the aerobic power of children. Med Exerc Nutr Health 1995; 4: 243-250.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Ferreira, I., Van Der Horst, K., Wendel‐Vos, W., Kremers, S., Van Lenthe, F. J., & Brug, J.
Affiliations
  • Erasmus MC (NL)
  • National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (NL)
  • Maastricht University (NL)
Corresponding author
Brug, J.
Venue
Obesity Reviews
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2006-08-22
Volume
8
Issue
2
Pages
129-154
ISSN
  • 1467-7881 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-789X
OpenAlex
W2068241985
Cited by
993
References
243
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 46 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 56 · 2019: 48 · 2018: 45 · 2017: 51 · 2016: 54 · 2015: 81 · 2014: 77 · 2013: 78 · 2012: 72
FWCI
3.81
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Obesity Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (publishedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
  • Rivm (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) (submittedVersion)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Social Sciences › Transportation › Urban Transport and Accessibility
Keywords
physical activity, youth, environmental correlates, childhood obesity, adolescents, family environment, school environment, parental physical activity, neighborhood crime, school physical activity policy, social support, household income
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Child, Child, Preschool, Cross-Sectional Studies, Educational Status, Environment, Family Relations, Humans, Motor Activity, Obesity, Socioeconomic Factors, Global Health, Prevalence

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