SynthesisAmerican journal of public health2012
The relationship between built environments and physical activity: a systematic review.
Synthesis in American journal of public health, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 154 papers, 15 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
154 citing papers in PubMed, 15 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The neighbourhood built environment and health-related fitness: a narrative systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Pooled it
- Objectively measuring the association between the built environment and physical activity: a systematic review and reporting framework.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Pooled it
- Built environment interventions and physical activity levels: A systematic review.Biomedica : revista del Instituto Nacional de Salud · 2022Pooled it
- Socioeconomic position and body composition in childhood in high- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2021Pooled it
- Associations between the built environment and obesity: an umbrella review.International journal of health geographics · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of the built environment on physical activity: a systematic review of longitudinal studies taking sex/gender into account.Environmental health and preventive medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Methodologies for assessing contextual exposure to the built environment in physical activity studies: A systematic review.Health & place · 2019Pooled it
- Understanding Physical Activity through Interactions Between the Built Environment and Social Cognition: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2018Pooled it
- Do Natural Experiments of Changes in Neighborhood Built Environment Impact Physical Activity and Diet? A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Pooled it
- The association between built environment features and physical activity in the Australian context: a synthesis of the literature.BMC public health · 2016Pooled it
- Built Environment, Selected Risk Factors and Major Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes: A Systematic Review.PloS one · 2016Pooled it
- Associations between neighbourhood walkability and daily steps in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2015Pooled it
- Building safety into active living initiatives.Preventive medicine · 2014Pooled it
- Obesogenic environments: a systematic review of the association between the physical environment and adult weight status, the SPOTLIGHT project.BMC public health · 2014Pooled it
- Do Neighborhoods Matter? A Systematic Review of Modifiable Risk Factors for Obesity among Low Socio-Economic Status Black and Hispanic Children.Childhood obesity (Print)Pooled it
- Physical Activity Outcomes of a Culturally Tailored, Father-Focused, and Family-Centered Health Promotion Program for Mexican-Heritage Families:International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Trial
- Multi-use physical activity trails in an urban setting and cardiovascular disease: a difference-in-differences analysis of a natural experiment in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Trial
- Kernel Density Estimation as a Measure of Environmental Exposure Related to Insulin Resistance in Breast Cancer Survivors.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2017Trial
- Park Density Impacts Weight Change in a Behavioral Intervention for Overweight Rural Youth.Behavioral medicine (Washington, D.C.) · 2015Trial
- Lessons from the pandemic: College students' physical activity levels, resource use, and opportunities for equitable physical activity promotion.Journal of American college health : J of ACH · 2026Article
94 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesWe conducted a systematic review of the literature examining the relationship between built environments (e.g., parks, trails, sidewalks) and physical activity (PA) or obesity rates.
methodsWe performed a 2-step inclusion protocol to identify empirical articles examining any form of built environment and any form of PA (or obesity rate) as the outcome. We extracted data from included abstracts for analysis by using a standard code sheet developed for this study.
resultsOf 169 included articles, 89.2% reported beneficial relationships-but virtually all articles utilized simple observational study designs not suited for determining causality. Studies utilizing objective PA measures (e.g., pedometer) were 18% less likely to identify a beneficial relationship. Articles focusing on children in community settings (-14.2%), those examining direct measures of obesity (-6.2%), or those with an academic first author (-3.4%) were less likely to find a beneficial relationship.
conclusionsPolicymakers at federal and local levels should encourage more rigorous scientific research to determine whether altered built environments will result in increased PA and decreased obesity rates.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.