The Relationship Between Community Physical Activity Settings and Race, Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status

The Relationship Between Community Physical Activity Settings and Race, Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status

The results show that higher levels of poverty significantly reduce the likelihood of having parks and green spaces and bike paths/lanes in the community and that higher income levels are also associated with an increased probability of having bike paths.  Communities with higher percentages of African American populations were significantly less likely to have either parks and green spaces or public pools or beaches in the area.  Greater Hispanic populations were positively associated with the presence of public pools and beaches.  Overall, the results suggest that communities with low-SES populations and higher proportions of minority racial groups who are most at risk to be inactive and overweight are also associated with the fewest community-level physical activity-related settings.  These results highlight the importance of targeting interventions in low SES areas and communities with minority populations where the associated barriers are relatively high and the levels of physical activity are known to be relatively low.  Lisa M. Powell; Sandy Slater; Frank J. Chaloupka, Evidence-Based Preventive Medicine 1(2):135-144, 2004.  (7/04)