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The Influence of Neighborhood Social Capital on Leisure-Time Physical Activity: a Population-Based Study in Brazil

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Abstract

Environmentally targeted approaches to promote physical activity are emerging in recent years as a complementary strategy to the traditional individual approaches. This study explored the relation between community social capital and leisure-time physical activity in an adult population-based sample in Brazil. We applied a generalized estimating equation approach to analyze a cross-sectional survey of 3667 adults living in 149 neighborhoods. Social capital was assessed by scales that measured collective efficacy and social cohesion in the neighborhood. We find that individuals living in areas with higher level of social cohesion were more likely to be physically active even after controlling for potentially confounding individual and area-level covariates (PR = 1.56; 95% CI = 1.13, 2.16). Collective efficacy was not significantly associated with leisure-time physical activity. Interventions to strengthen social cohesion in the community may be an avenue for promoting physical activity.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the study participants. C. C. César and F. A. Proietti are fellows of the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brazil.

Funding

Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa, Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia, Brasil. Processo No. CNPq 409688/2006-1; Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa de Minas Gerais, Processo No. FAPEMIG CDS APQ 00677-08; Fundo Nacional de Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Processo No. FNS 25000.102984/2006-97; National Institute of Health and Fogarty International, Processo No. 1R03TY008105-01

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Daiana Elias Rodrigues, Cibele Comini César & Fernando Augusto Proietti

  2. Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Ichiro Kawachi

  3. Faculty of Health and Human Ecology, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    César Coelho Xavier

  4. Federal University of Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Waleska Teixeira Caiaffa

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  1. Daiana Elias Rodrigues
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  2. Cibele Comini César
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  3. Ichiro Kawachi
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  5. Waleska Teixeira Caiaffa
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  6. Fernando Augusto Proietti
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Correspondence to Daiana Elias Rodrigues.

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Rodrigues, D.E., César, C.C., Kawachi, I. et al. The Influence of Neighborhood Social Capital on Leisure-Time Physical Activity: a Population-Based Study in Brazil. J Urban Health 95, 727–738 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-018-0293-z

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