Perceived Neighborhood Contentedness and its Impact on Physical and Sedentary Activity in Adolescents

Adolescent health is an important part of public health. Activity patterns, such as physical activity and screen time can have direct effects on this. It is important to understand what barriers to healthy activity choices exist and understand why they exist. \ud \ud In the following study a measure of perceived neighborhood contentedness was developed utilizing aspects of perceived neighborhood safety, familiarity and comfort. This measure was then measured in a large, nationally representative population of adolescents and evaluated for its appropriateness. The association between perceived neighborhood contentedness and physical activity as well as sedentary activity was then evaluated. Perceived neighborhood contentedness did have a significant association with an increased level of physical activity in the population. This relationship was consistent across both genders and study waves. It had a smaller but still significant relationship with sedentary activity, as measured by screen time duration. \ud \ud Adolescent health is an important aspect of public health and interventions to increase healthy lifestyle decisions are key in promoting this. Perceived neighborhood contentedness is important to consider when developing public health plans to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary activity in the community. Neighborhood factors should be considered when developing these interventions. \u