Built and Social Environment Factors Associated With Physical Activity Among Latin American Adolescents

Based on the ecological model, adolescents' physical activity (PA) can be understood as being influenced by characteristics of the built and social environments. However, most existing evidence originates from high-income countries.

To evaluate the association between country-level built and social environments and the global PA of adolescents in Latin America.

The data from 63,360 adolescents, aged 13-17 years old, from 10 Latin American countries who participated in the Global School-Based Student Health Survey (2009-2015) and the National School-Based Health Survey (2015) were analyzed. PA was measured using the globally estimated PA indicator, where adolescents were considered active if they reported at least 60 minutes of PA per day on 5 or more days per week. Independent variables included country-level environmental factors (built, social, and socioeconomic) obtained from secondary data sources. The association was analyzed using multilevel logistic regression (country level and individuals).

Approximately 21.03% (95% CI, 20.40-21.7) of the adolescents evaluated were considered active. The final model showed that the likelihood of being physically active was lower among adolescents living in countries with a higher population density (odds ratio = 0.94; 95% CI, 0.92-0.96) and higher household overcrowding percentage (odds ratio = 0.93; 95% CI, 0.89-0.97) and was higher among those living in countries with a higher social cohesion percentage (odds ratio = 1.22; 95% CI, 1.13-1.31).

Population density, household overcrowding, and social cohesion in Latin American countries were associated with PA among Latin American adolescents. This suggests that strategies targeting the built and social environments can influence the PA levels of this population.