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Abstract: This study aimed to investigate associations between neighborhood perception and sleep problems in older Brazilian adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 5,719 community-dwelling older adults (≥ 60 years) from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil, 2019-2021). The outcomes were self-reported sleep problems: poor sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, primary insomnia complaints, difficulty staying asleep, and waking up at dawn. The exposure variables were questions about the perception of participants about the physical and social environment of the neighborhood. Logistic regression was used in data analysis. Garbage, rubbish, or tall grass on the streets and the desire to move were associated with higher odds of poor sleep quality. Concern about falling due to damaged sidewalks, concern about having difficulties taking transportation, and concern about having difficulties crossing the street were associated with higher odds of all sleep problems. Sound/noise of buses and cars was associated with higher odds of some sleep problems. Perceiving the neighborhood as a good place to live was associated with lower odds of daytime sleepiness and primary insomnia complaints. Trusting most people in the neighborhood and perceiving that kids and younger people treat adults with respect were associated with lower odds of daytime sleepiness, primary insomnia complaints, and waking up at dawn. Being a good place for kids to play and raise teenagers was associated with lower odds of daytime sleepiness. These results can assist public administrators in creating urban planning policies aimed at improving neighborhood environments as a means of health promotion.

This study aims to evaluate motor proficiency in the neighbourhood environment in children aged six to ten. The sample was constituted of 397 children. The Motor Proficiency Test from Bruininks-Oseretsky-BOT-2 was used to evaluate motor performance. In the neighbourhood environment, it was used a questionnaire elaborated by the researchers. The Criteria of Economic Classification Brazil (CCEB-ABEP) was used to classify the socioeconomic level. In the group comparisons, the Kruskall-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used, and the Chi-square test was used for the association. The results demonstrated that 68,3% of the children are inside the average for their age in global motor development. When comparing motor proficiency with the socioeconomic classes, a significant statistical difference was found between fine motor coordination, body control, strength and agility and global motor coordination. A relation was found between using ATI and global motor coordination, Square/Playground with body control and global motor coordination, and clubs/private schools with CMA, FO-AGI and DMG. It was concluded that the neighbourhood environment of the area where the child lived in the city of Maringá is not associated with motor proficiency. On the other hand, the socioeconomic level is so much associated with motor proficiency that belonging to the lower socioeconomic class disfavoured the performance of the evaluated children. In relation to the characteristics of the neighbourhood, frequenting opened and public spaces such as sidewalks and streets did not result in higher motor proficiency, but spaces with equipment, such as the ATI, square/playgrounds, sports centres/sports courts and clubs/private schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study aims to analyze the isolated and combined effect of objective measures concerning neighborhood safety, food, and physical activity environments on students’ obesity. This is a cross-sectional study conducted with 9- and 10-year-old children enrolled in the municipal education network of a Brazilian metropolis. Environment objective measures comprised neighborhood unsafety (annual criminality and road traffic accident rates), availability of public parks and spaces for physical activity practicing, and index of establishments that predominantly sell ultra-processed food. Euclidean buffers of 1,000m around the children’s house were used as eligible geographic units. This study adopted the Principal Component Analysis and Generalized Estimation Equation models. Stratified analyses were conducted based on neighborhood unsafety and on child’s family income. In total, 717 students were assessed, 12.2% of them were children with obesity. The latent variable of the obesogenic environment (deduced by environment unsafety rates and the index of establishments that predominantly sell ultra-processed food) was a risk factor for obesity in children with lower socioeconomic levels (OR = 2.37; 95%CI: 1.06-5.19). Public parks and spaces for physical activity practicing were protective factors against childhood obesity only in locations recording the lowest environment unsafety rates (OR = 0.30; 95%CI: 0.09-0.94). Based on our findings, social conditions change the effect of the environment on childhood obesity, reinforcing the relevance of inter-sectoral policies and strategies against this condition.

This study aimed to identify the perceptions of the participants and health professionals of the Group "Health Trekking" at the Rio Vermelho Health Center in Florianópolis, as well as their conceptions of health, the relationship with the nature and the activities carried out. It is characterized as a participant study, with a qualitative approach and analysis. The study consisted of 18 subjects, in which 15 were patients from the Unified Health System and three health professionals. The instruments used for data collection included a semi-structured interview, participant observation and field diary, recorded through recorder and smartphone. The data were organized using the software NVivo 11 and analyzed through the technique of content analysis. The participant's conception of health fluctuates between the logic based on illness and health, being influenced by the conception of responsible professionals and the practices performed. Participants reported physical (physical fitness improvement, balance, agility) and psychological (disposition, relaxation, and happiness) benefits, as well as social interaction. The specificity of the Group "Health Trekking" in natural environment can be enables user empowerment, identification of neighborhood characteristics and behavior change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study aimed to identify neighborhood profiles perceived by adolescents and young adults and estimate their association with global and leisure-time physical activity. Data from 1,637 individuals aged 15 to 24 years were taken from a cross-sectional study with cluster sampling, conducted in a city in the State of Bahia, Brazil, in 2011. Physical activity was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), short version, in addition to a question about leisure activities. The perception of characteristics of the physical and social environment of the neighborhood was based on a scale with 14 questions. Neighborhood profiles were defined through latent class analysis (LCA), and the estimation of their effects on physical activity used a model with distal outcomes. The latent profile analysis resulted in three neighborhood patterns, described as "urban, sociable, and favorable to physical activity - class 1" (39.6%); "sociable and safe - class 2" (24.4%), "insecure, low sociability - class 3" (36%). Individuals belonging to "class 1" showed the highest probability to exercise (56.4%), while for classes 2 and 3 these percentages corresponded to 46.3% and 42.8%, respectively. A statistically significant association was identified only in the "urban, sociable and favorable to physical activity" class, whose chance of performing leisure activities was 72% (OR = 1.72; 95%CI: 1.29-2.29). Neighborhoods with attributes that favor the practice of physical activity and the existence of urbanization elements increase the chance of active leisure behavior among adolescents and young adults. The use of LCA and the model with distal outcomes are promising and innovative in neighborhood approaches.