Article in Preventive Medicine: the environments that encourage jogging

Posté le 27/04/2012 10:04

In an article published in Preventive Medicine, Noëlla Karusisi sought to identify the characteristics of residential environments associated with the practice of jogging.

The objective of the study was to identify the characteristics of geographic environments that intervene as environmental barriers to a regular physical activity and could lead to the failure of traditional health education and promotion programs in certain neighborhoods.

The analyses showed that different factors of the physical environment and social interactional environment were associated with the practice of jogging and with the location of jogging (inside or outside the neighborhood).

The presence and the quality of green and open spaces, the presence of monuments and enjoyable sites, and a high degree of social cohesion in the neighborhood increased the probability of jogging over the previous 7 days.

Moreover, the presence and quality of green and open spaces, the objective surface of green spaces, and the presence of a lake or waterway in the neighborhood increased the likelihood to jog inside rather than outside one’s residential neighborhood.

This study suggests that all geographic environments do not support the practice of a regular physical activity in a similar way.

Catégories: Publications