Active Where? Project
The emphasis to understand how the physical environment impacts health behaviors related to chronic diseases such as obesity has largely focused on adults. Funded by the Active Living Research Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Active Where? Project addresses this gap in research by examining how the physical environment may impact children differently than adults and identifying the environments in which children are or are not active.
The Active Where? Project consists of two phases. First, families are interviewed over the phone and in person to obtain qualitative data about youths' physical activity environments. The project staff completes neighborhood assessments of convenience, attractiveness, safety, and proclivity for physical activity. The gathered information is then used to develop survey items for the second part of the project.
The second part of the project is designed to investigate where children, ages 5 to 11, and adolescents, ages 12 to 18, are physically active in Cincinnati, San Diego, and Boston. Adolescents and parents also report on neighborhood perceptions, nutritional environments, rules at home and school, and neighborhood physical features that either promote or negate physical activity. The survey will be tested for validity and reliability. This project will expand the evaluation of the types of environments in which children and adolescents are active.
Other investigators for this project include Drs. Durant, Kerr, and Norman.
