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Objective: There is evidence linking the built environment (BE) with physical activity (PA), but few studies have been conducted in Latin America (LA). State-of-the-art methods and protocols have been designed in and applied in high-income countries (HIC). In this paper, we identify key challenges and potential solutions to conducting high-quality PA and BE research in LA., Methods: The experience of implementing the IPEN data collection protocol (IPEN: International Physical Activity Environment Network) in Curitiba, Brazil; Bogotá, Colombia; and Cuernavaca, Mexico (2010-2011); is described to identify challenges for conducting PA and BE research in LA., Results: Five challenges were identified: lack of academic capacity (implemented solutions (IS): building a strong international collaborative network); limited data availability, access and quality (IS: partnering with influential local institutions, and crafting creative solutions to use the best-available data); socio-political, socio-cultural and socio-economic context (IS: in-person recruitment and data collection, alternative incentives); safety (IS: strict rules for data collection procedures, and specific measures to increase trust); and appropriateness of instruments and measures (IS: survey adaptation, use of standardized additional survey components, and employing a context-based approach to understanding the relationship between PA and the BE). Advantages of conducting PA and BE research in LA were also identified., Conclusions: Conducting high-quality PA and BE research in LA is challenging but feasible. Networks of institutions and researchers from both HIC and LMIC play a key role. The lessons learned from the IPEN LA study may be applicable to other LMIC., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This is an invited commentary for the Active Living Research (ALR) special issue. The commentary focuses on the lessons that can be learned from Latin America regarding obesity prevention. Examples from Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia that may inform US policy are described., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Introduction: The built environment correlates of physical activity are documented in high-income countries but have yet to be studied among Mexican adults. Our objectives were to assess the associations between characteristics of the built environment and physical activity among adults in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and to examine potential moderation by perceived park and neighborhood safety., Methods: We conducted a population-based study of adults in Cuernavaca, Mexico, in 2011 (N = 677). Participants wore Actigraph GT3X accelerometers for 7 days. We used geographic information systems (GIS) to generate 500-m- and 1-km-buffer-based measures of net residential density, proportion of commercial land use, land-use mix, connectivity, walkability, and number of parks and transit routes. We also obtained data on distance to the nearest park with GIS. Perceived neighborhood and park safety were self-reported. We created quartile-based categories for all built environment characteristics and ran linear regression models to estimate the association between each characteristic and total weekly moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and MVPA within 10-minute bouts., Results: Walkability was inversely related to total weekly minutes of MVPA (1-km buffer, -46.9 [standard error, 20.0]; P = .03) and weekly minutes of MVPA within bouts (500-m buffer, -31.5 [12.9]; P = .02). The number of transit routes in the 500-m buffer was inversely related to total weekly minutes of MVPA (-23.8 [10.6]; P = .04). Perception of park safety moderated the association between physical activity and having a park intersect the 500-m buffer., Conclusion: Our findings contrast with those from high-income countries, suggesting that environmental programs and policies to increase physical activity in Mexican cities cannot be adapted from high-income countries without considering the local context.

This study examined the strength and shape of associations between perceived environmental attributes and adults' recreational walking, using data collected from 13,745 adult participants in 12 countries. Perceived residential density, land use mix, street connectivity, aesthetics, safety from crime, and proximity to parks were linearly associated with recreational walking, while curvilinear associations were found for residential density, land use mix, and aesthetics. The observed associations were consistent across countries, except for aesthetics. Using data collected from environmentally diverse countries, this study confirmed findings from prior single-country studies. Present findings suggest that similar environmental attributes are associated with recreational walking internationally., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)