@article{5d0040ced4054759ad1d9218a8ddf963,
title = "Environmental factors associated with physical activity in rural U.S. counties",
abstract = "Background: Rural U.S. adults{\textquoteright} prevalence of meeting physical activity (PA) guidelines is lower than urban adults, yet rural-urban differences in environmental influences of adults{\textquoteright} PA are largely unknown. The study{\textquoteright}s objective was to identify rural-urban variations in environmental factors associated with the prevalence of adults meeting PA guidelines. Methods: County-level data for non-frontier counties (n = 2697) were used. A five-category rurality variable was created using the percentage of a county{\textquoteright}s population living in a rural area. Factor scores from Factor Analyses (FA) were used in subsequent Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) analyses stratified by rurality to identify associations between environmental factor scores and the prevalence of males and females meeting PA guidelines. Results: FA revealed a 13-variable, four-factor structure of natural, social, recreation, and transportation environments. MLR revealed that natural, social, and recreation environments were associated with PA for males and females, with variation by sex for social environment. The natural environment was associated with PA in all but urban counties; the recreation environment was associated with PA in the urban counties and the two most rural counties. Conclusions: Variations across the rural-urban continuum in environmental factors associated with adults{\textquoteright} PA, highlight the uniqueness of rural PA and the need to further study what succeeds in creating active rural places.",
keywords = "Physical activity, Positive deviance, Rural health, Social-ecological",
author = "Abildso, {Christiaan G.} and Daily, {Shay M.} and Meyer, {M. Ren{\'e}e Umstattd} and Edwards, {Michael B.} and Lauren Jacobs and Megan McClendon and Perry, {Cynthia K.} and Roemmich, {James N.}",
note = "Funding Information: Acknowledgments: This work is a product of the Physical Activity Policy Research and Evaluation Network (PAPREN). PAPREN is supported by Cooperative Agreement Number U48DP006381 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is a product of the Physical Activity Policy Evaluation and Research Network, a thematic network of the Prevention Research Center network. All authors except S.M.D. and J.N.R. are members of the PAPREN Rural Active Living Work Group. PAPREN is an applied research and evaluation network focused on identification and implementation of local, state, and national policy approaches that influence opportunities for physical activity and built environment strategies. The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We would also like to acknowledge the technical support of Jeff Whitfield of the CDC{\textquoteright}s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Physical Activity and Health Branch. Funding Information: This research received no external funding. J.N.R. is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, project 3062-51000-051-00D. Acknowledgments: This work is a product of the Physical Activity Policy Research and Evaluation Network (PAPREN). PAPREN is supported by Cooperative Agreement Number U48DP006381 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is a product of the Physical Activity Policy Evaluation and Research Network, a thematic network of the Prevention Research Center network. All authors except S.M.D. and J.N.R. are members of the PAPREN Rural Active Living Work Group. PAPREN is an applied research and evaluation network focused on identification and implementation of local, state, and national policy approaches that influence opportunities for physical activity and built environment strategies. The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We would also like to acknowledge the technical support of Jeff Whitfield of the CDC{\textquoteright}s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Physical Activity and Health Branch. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.",
year = "2021",
month = jul,
day = "2",
doi = "10.3390/ijerph18147688",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "18",
journal = "International journal of environmental research and public health",
issn = "1661-7827",
publisher = "Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)",
number = "14",
}