Effects of Environmental Opportunities and Barriers on Physical Activity, Fitness, and Health in Hispanic Children in Wisconsin

Our primary hypothesis is that the disparity between a community's potential for physical activity and nutrition, and the realized fitness and health of its children, can be attributed to specific environmental and social factors. "Built environment" studies to date have measured potential for physical activity but have not looked at how social factors mediate an individual's activity within a particular environment. The unique aspect of this proposal is the development of a model that explains how physical, social, cultural, and nutritional SEM layers interact to create gaps between potential and realized physical activity. This project will utilize novel technologies to:

1. identify and analyze characteristics of the social and built environment that inhibit or enhance physical activity and healthy nutrition;
2. determine the direction and extent of influence of these variables on children's activity, nutrition, and health;
3. gather ideas from students, parents, and school staff to inform a potential health campaign to reduce and prevent obesity in the community.

To address these goals and demonstrate a causal relationship between physical activity and the social-nutritional factors within a built environment, the following specific objectives/aims are being addressed:

Specific Aim 1: Assess the built environment for energy requirements of movement, nutrition options, suitability for outdoor physical activity, and for children's actual physical activity and energy expenditure within those environments.

Specific Aim 2: Assess the impact of children's social environment on movement and nutrition choices within the built environment.

Specific Aim 3: Conduct a quantitative assessment of children's fitness, obesity, and indicators of metabolic health.

Specific Aim 4: Develop a quantitative model from Specific Aims 1-3 that describes the causal relationships among children's physical health, community "healthfulness," and other mediating factors such as attitudes, perceptions, and behavior.