Influence of the built environment on physical activity and its relationship with childhood obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis / Influência do ambiente construído na atividade física e sua relação com a obesidade infantil: Revisão sistemática com meta-análise

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity is understood as a health problem of concern due to the changes it can cause in the development process. Being the physical activity and the built environment important influencers in this process. The authors aimed to analyze studies of the last ten years, checking the relationship between the level of physical activity, the built environment and obesity. Methods: This is a systematic review and meta-analysis, conducted through PubMed, B-on and Web of Science, using the terms (obesity child* AND physi* activit*) AND (obesity child* OR overweight you*) AND (built environment). To evaluate the quality of the studies, the PRISMA tool and the STROBE index were used. Five studies were selected and their data were analyzed by the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis V.3. Results: It can be stated that there is an inverse relationship between the evaluated aspects (obesity, built environment and physical activity), presenting a negative correlation of 0.026 with p = 0.0001. The results of the Z test = -4.050, where the ease and availability of physical activity places are related to childhood obesity levels. Conclusions: Childhood obesity may be inversely related to the built environment, due to the ease and availability of places for physical activity