title: Perceived and Police-Reported Neighborhood Crime: Linkages to Adolescent Activity Behaviors and Weight Status.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Inadequate physical activity and obesity during adolescence are areas of public health concern. Questions exist about the role of neighborhoods in the etiology of these problems. This research addressed the relationships of perceived and objective reports of neighborhood crime to adolescent physical activity, screen media use, and body mass index (BMI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Socioeconomically and racially/ethnically diverse adolescents (N = 2,455, 53.4% female) from 20 urban, public middle and high schools in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota responded to a classroom survey in the Eating and Activity in Teens 2010 study. BMI was measured by research staff. Participants' mean age was 14.6 (standard deviation = 2.0); 82.7% represented racial/ethnic groups other than non-Hispanic white. Linear regressions examined associations between crime perceived by adolescents and crime reported to police and the outcomes of interest (BMI z-scores, physical activity, and screen time). Models were stratified by gender and adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and school.
  
  
  RESULTS
  BMI was positively associated with perceived crime among girls and boys and with reported crime in girls. For girls, there was an association between higher perceived crime and increased screen time; for boys, between higher reported property crime and reduced physical activity. Perceived crime was associated with reported crime, both property and personal, in both genders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Few prior studies of adolescents have studied the association between both perceived and reported crime and BMI. Community-based programs for youth should consider addressing adolescents' safety concerns along with other perceived barriers to physical activity. Interventions targeting actual crime rates are also important.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urban Planning and Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Electronic address: aforsyth@gsd.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Forsyth
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Columbia University, New York; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wall
authors.affiliation: Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, New York.
authors.forename: Tse
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Choo
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.affiliation: Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Van Riper
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota.
authors.forename: Dianne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neumark-Sztainer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D003201:Computers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D009043:Motor Activity; D016495:Police; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013690:Television / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: Adolescents; Body mass index; Neighborhoods; Perceived and actual crime; Physical activity; Screen time