Residents' diverse perspectives of the impact of neighbourhood renewal on quality of life and physical activity engagement: Improvements but unresolved issues

AbstractFew studies have been published on the reactions of residents to modifications of their residential landscape. We explored residents' experiences of home zone remodelling and construction of a new cycle-walkway in a deprived neighbourhood with a particular focus on aspects of quality of life and physical activity participation. Focus groups (n=5 groups, 21 individuals) were used to investigate residents' perceptions of the effects of neighbourhood change on their lives. Consultation by planners was received positively. Several aspects of the neighbourhood were perceived to have improved, including spatial aesthetics, lighting and streetscape planting. However, influence on physical activity was minimal. Car-focused behaviour and ownership remained dominant, and safety related concerns limited behavioural choices. Residents highlighted many socio-environmental challenges that remained such as sense of neighbourhood safety, poor public transport provision, people's parking behaviour locally, and problem neighbours, and these tended to dominate conversations. Infrastructural intervention may be one important part of multi-layered solutions to improved neighbourhood life

Associations of objectively measured physical activity with lower limb function in older men and women: findings from the older people and active living (OPAL) study

Associations of objectively measured physical activity (PA) with objectively measured lower limb function in adults age 70 and older were studied. Lower limb function was assessed using the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and PA by an accelerometer providing mean daily counts per minute (CPM), mean daily steps and minutes of moderate or vigorous PA (MVPA) per day. A minority (32 [13%]) scored low (≤6 out of a maximum of 12) on the SPPB, but only 3 (1%) achieved recommended PA levels. Adjusting for confounders, the odds ratio of low SPPB (≤6) comparing those in the lowest one third to highest two thirds of mean CPM was 55 (95%CI: 6, 520); for mean steps per day it was 23 (95%CI: 4, 137) and for minutes of MVPA per day 56 (95%CI: 6, 530). Low levels of PA are common and are associated with poor levels of lower limb function in older adults.Tanya Trayers, Debbie A. Lawlor, Kenneth R. Fox, Jo Coulso

Do children from an inner city British school meet the recommended levels of physical activity? Results from a cross sectional survey using objective measurements of physical activity

Questionnaire surveys suggest physical activity levels in children are low, particularly among children from deprived areas. Using accelerometers, it was found that children from a deprived inner city school were active at recommended levels and had similar levels of activity to children in other studies from more affluent populations. However, this finding was dependent on the threshold used to define moderate activity