title: Environmental influences on children's physical activity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This paper aims to assess whether 7-year-olds' physical activity is associated with family and area-level measures of the physical and socioeconomic environments.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analysed the association of environments with physical activity in 6497 singleton children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study with reliable accelerometer data (≥2 days and ≥10 h/day). Activity levels were assessed as counts per minute; minutes of moderate to vigorous activity (MVPA); and whether meeting recommended guidelines (≥60 min/day MVPA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher levels of children's physical activity were associated with households without use of a car and with having a television in a child's bedroom (for counts per minute only). Aspects of the home socioeconomic environment that were associated with more children's physical activity were lone motherhood, lower maternal socioeconomic position and education, family income below 60% national median, and not owning the home. Children's activity levels were higher when parents perceived their neighbourhood as poor for bringing up children and also when families were living in the most deprived areas. Relationships were independent of characteristics such as child's body mass index and ethnic group. When adjusted for physical and socioeconomic correlates, the factors remaining significant in all outcomes were: household car usage and maternal education.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although physical and socioeconomic environments are associated with children's physical activity, much of the variation appears to be determined by the child's home socioeconomic circumstances rather than the wider environment where they live.
authors.affiliation: School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Theodora
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pouliou
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sera
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantitative Social Science, Institute of Education University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Geraci
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cortina-Borja
authors.affiliation: UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Law
mesh_terms: D056044:Actigraphy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004779:Environment Design; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000145:classification*; D012923:Social Class; D012931:Social Environment; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: CHILD HEALTH; ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH; PHYSICAL ACTIVITY; SOCIAL INEQUALITIES; SOCIO-ECONOMIC