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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2012 Nov 1;103(Suppl 3):S55–S60. doi: 10.1007/BF03403836

Physical Activity and Nutrition Among Youth in Rural, Suburban and Urban Neighbourhood Types

Cindy Shearer 110,✉, Chris Blanchard 210, Sara Kirk 310, Renee Lyons 410, Trevor Dummer 510, Robert Pitter 610, Daniel Rainham 710, Laurene Rehman 310, Chris Shields 610, Meaghan Sim 310
PMCID: PMC6973923  PMID: 23618091

Abstract

Objectives

Physical activity and nutrition are essential to healthy living and particularly important during youth, when growth and development are key. This study examined rates of physical activity (PA) and diet quality (DQ) among youth in grades 7 to 9 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, during the 2008/09 school year and tested differences among students in rural, urban and suburban neighbourhood types of high and low socio-economic status (SES).

Methods

Youth in grades 7 through 9 (aged 12–16; 53% male) from six schools (N=380), stratified by neighbourhood type (urban, suburban, rural) |and SES, wore accelerometers for up to 7 days (mean=4.14, standard deviation=1.49) and completed a nutritional survey.

Results

The findings suggest important differences in PA and DQ across SES and neighbourhood type. Specifically, rates of moderate to vigorous physical activity among youth from schools in lower socio-economic areas were higher in urban than in suburban or rural settings. Furthermore, DQ was better among youth in higher than in lower socio-economic urban settings.

Conclusions

Understanding these differences in PA and DQ across rural, urban and suburban environments of high and low SES may highlight subgroups and targeted geographic areas for the design of interventions to improve rates of PA and health nutrition.

Key words: Physical activity, nutrition, youth, built environment, socioeconomic status

Mots clés: activité physique, nutrition, jeunesse, milieu bâti, statut socioéconomique

Footnotes

Acknowledgements: This research was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health and Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes; and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, through the Built Environment, Obesity and Health Initiative. The authors thank the ENACT team, including its principal investigators Renee Lyons and Jill Grant; co-investigators (not listed as co-authors) Michael Arthur, Andrea Chircop, Patricia Manuel and Louise Parker; community and policy partners Janet Barlow, Diana Dibblee, Amy MacDonald, Roxane Maclnnis, Michelle Murton, Clare O’Connor, Paul Shakotko and Jacqueline Spiers; and staff and students Meredith Flannery, Andrew Harding, Nicole Landry, Kathryn MacKay, Gillian McGinnis, Julie Rouette and Stephanie Wood

Conflict of Interest: None to declare

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