title: Neighbourhood and physical activity in German adolescents: GINIplus and LISAplus.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Impact of neighbourhood on physical activity (PA) is under-investigated in European adolescents, and few studies have used objective data on both exposures and outcomes. Therefore we investigated the association between objectively measured neighbourhood characteristics and PA in 15-year-old German adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Study populations comprised of 688 adolescents residing in the urban Munich area and 504 from the rural Wesel area from the GINIplus and LISAplus birth cohorts. Neighbourhood was defined as a circular 500-m buffer around the residence. Greenness was calculated 1) as the mean Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and 2) as percent tree cover. Neighbourhood green spaces and sport and leisure facilities were defined as present or absent in a neighbourhood (data only available for Munich). Data on PA were collected from one-week triaxial accelerometry (hip-worn ActiGraph GT3X). Minutes of PA were classified into moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA), light and sedentary using Romanzini's et al. triaxial cutoffs, and averaged over the recording period. Activity diaries were used for differentiation between school and leisure (total minus school) PA. Area-specific associations were assessed by adjusted negative binomial regressions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the Wesel area, residing in a neighbourhood with higher NDVI was associated with 9% more leisure MVPA among females and with 8% more leisure MVPA in rural dwellers. In the Munich area, residing in a neighbourhood with sport facilities was associated with 9% more leisure MVPA. The latter association was only significant in urban dwellers while neighbourhood leisure facilities increased MVPA in rural dwellers. Estimates were very similar when total MVPA was considered rather than solely leisure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is indication that neighbourhood features could be associated with MVPA in German adolescents. However, different features seem to be important across sexes and in rural/urban settings, which need to be specifically addressed in future studies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology I, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany; Division of Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Munich, Germany. Electronic address: iana.markevych@helmholtz-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Iana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Markevych
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology I, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Maia P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Physical Geography/Landscape Ecology and Sustainable Ecosystem Development, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Eichstätt, Germany.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jochner
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology I, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Standl
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology I, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Brüske
authors.affiliation: Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Marien-Hospital Wesel, Wesel, Germany.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: von Berg
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Carl-Peter
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.affiliation: IUF - Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Kateryna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fuks
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Sibylle
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koletzko
authors.affiliation: Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Marien-Hospital Wesel, Wesel, Germany.
authors.forename: Dietrich
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berdel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology I, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany; Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Inner City Clinic, University Hospital of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heinrich
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology I, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany; Comprehensive Pneumology Center Munich (CPC-M), Member of the German Center for Lung Research, Germany.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schulz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Accelerometry; Built environment; Green spaces; Greenness; Sport facilities