barriers to physical activity in east harlem, new york体育活动在东哈莱姆壁垒,纽约.pdfVIP

Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Obesity Volume 2012, Article ID 719140, 8 pages doi:10.1155/2012/719140 Research Article Barriers to Physical Activity in East Harlem, New York Ashley M. Fox,1 Devin M. Mann,2 Michelle A. Ramos,1 Lawrence C. Kleinman,1 and Carol R. Horowitz1 1 Department of Health Evidence and Policy, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA 2 Section of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Ashley M. Fox, ashley.fox@ Received 14 January 2012; Revised 9 April 2012; Accepted 23 April 2012 ´ Academic Editor: Antonio Palmeira Copyright © 2012 Ashley M. Fox et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. East Harlem is an epicenter of the intertwining epidemics of obesity and diabetes in New York. Physical activity is thought to prevent and control a number of chronic illnesses, including diabetes, both independently and through weight control. Using data from a survey collected on adult (age 18+) residents of East Harlem, this study evaluated whether perceptions of safety and community-identified barriers were associated with lower levels of physical activity in a diverse sample. Methods. We surveyed 300 adults in a 2-census tract area of East Harlem and took measurements of height and weight. Physical activity was measured in two ways: respondents were classified as having met the weekly recommended target of 2.5 hours of moderate physical activity (walking) per week (or not) and reporting having engaged in at least