Relação do ambiente construído com os níveis de atividade física em Macapá

Abstract

Built environment attributes can interfere with people's physical activity levels. This relationship has been investigated in many international and some national studies that have tested and proved that certain aspects of the environment are associated with the population's physical activity levels. This is the first study in the northern region of Brazil to test this association. Objective: To correlate built environment attributes with physical activity levels in adults. Method: This is a quantitative and cross-sectional study carried out between September 2021 and February 2022 in a neighborhood in the city of Macapá/AP. Data collection took place through home visits, complying with all the safety protocols established by the Ministry of Health (MS) (2021) for the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the use of masks, a distance of 1.5 meters between the researcher and participant, and use of gel alcohol. It was adopted as inclusion criteria for participation in the research, subjects who proved the age of majority through an official document with photo, who were residents of the neighborhood and selected streets and who were apparently healthy, without physical or cognitive limitations that made it impossible for them to practice physical activity. To obtain data on the perception of the built environment, the NEWS A instrument (short version) was used and the IPAQ instrument (short version) was used to collect physical activity levels. Data were organized using Microsoftware Excel 2016. A significance level of 5% (p≤0.05) was used. The composition of the results was given by the statistical software SPSS.26® in the performance of the descriptive analysis (frequency, mean and standard deviation). Results: The study had the participation of 216 volunteers of both sexes, with a prevalence of females. Regarding the classification of physical activity levels, the participants were grouped into two distinct groups: sufficiently active and insufficiently active and the study revealed that most participants are classified as “insufficiently active”. Among the eight domains related to the perception of the environment that are part of NEWS-A, significant differences were found in the domains proximity to stores, access to services, neighborhood aesthetics and crime. Conclusion: This study showed that most participants had negative perceptions about the domains: street connectivity, places to walk/cycle, neighborhood aesthetics, traffic safety and crime. However, they have more favorable perceptions regarding proximity to stores and access to services. It is also noteworthy that the attributes of the built environment can interfere with the population's levels of physical activity. Evidence was found in this research that the positive perception of proximity to stores, access to services and neighborhood aesthetics is related to the increase in physical activity levels of residents of the Congós neighborhood. While the negative perception about the safety of the neighborhood showed a relationship with the decrease in the levels of physical activity of the study participants.