Association between leisure-time physical activity and the built environment in China: Empirical evidence from an accelerometer and GPS-based fitness app.

Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101285081 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1932-6203 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19326203 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLoS One Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science

Built Environment* ; Empirical Research* ; Leisure Activities* ; Mobile Applications*; Accelerometry/*instrumentation ; Exercise/*physiology ; Physical Fitness/*physiology; Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Geographic Information Systems ; Geography ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Middle Aged ; Regression Analysis ; Young Adult

To reexamine the relationship between leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and the built environment (BE), this paper takes advantage of the massive amount of data collected by an accelerometer and GPS-based fitness mobile app. Massive LTPA data from more than 3 million users were recorded by Codoon in 500m by 500m grid cells and aggregated to 742 natural cities in mainland China. Six BE indicators were quantified using GIS at the city scale. Robust regression analysis was used to estimate the correlation between LTPA and BE. Five of six BE indicators-connectivity, road density, land use mix, points of interest density, and density of parks and squares-were significantly, positively, independently, and linearly related to LTPA in the regression analysis. The study obtains findings that are consistent with the previous literature but also provides novel insights into the important role of POI density in encouraging LTPA, as well as how the relationship between LTPA and BE varies by time of day. The study also sheds light on the embrace of new technology and new data in public health and urban studies.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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Date Created: 20211231 Date Completed: 20220111 Latest Revision: 20220111

20221213

PMC8719743

10.1371/journal.pone.0260570

34971553