Characteristics of Community Programs and Policies: Associations With Physical Activity in Youth

This study examined the associations between the characteristics of community programs and policies and children's physical activity in a large, diverse set of U.S. communities.

Field staff interviewed key informants to identify community programs and policies aimed at promoting children's physical activity in 130 communities. Children and/or parents reported children's participation in moderate-to-vigorous physical activities. Community demographic characteristics were determined from census data, and communities were categorized on the basis of predominant race/ethnicity profile and SES. A total of 9,689 community programs and policies were identified across the participating communities, and each was coded for multiple characteristics. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was assessed in 5,138 elementary and middle-school students (mean age [SD]=9.28 [2.65] years). The study was a secondary analysis of data collected in 2013-2015. Data were analyzed in 2023-2025 using classification and regression trees to identify community demographic variables and characteristics of community programs and policies that were cross-sectionally associated with children's moderate-to-vigorous physical activities.

Results of the classification and regression trees analysis showed that community race/ethnicity and SES were strongly associated with child moderate-to-vigorous physical activities. Several characteristics of community programs and policies (e.g., targeting increased participation in school sports) were found to be associated with moderate-to-vigorous physical activities, but those associations were observed only within community race/ethnicity-SES subgroups.

The findings of this study support the conclusion that community-based actions to promote physical activity in children should be tailored to the demographic characteristics of the community.