Overview

Abstract (English)

Low levels of physical activity (PA) are associated with various chronic health conditions. The built environment consists of external factors with which we consistently interact within our local neighborhood environments. Various measures of the built environment have been shown to impact both leisure-time (LTPA) and transport-related physical activity (TRPA). While much focus has been placed on the built environment in both urban and rural regions, research exploring suburban areas may reveal further associations with PA participation, and can be studied using regionally collected health survey data. The following thesis aims to contribute to the growing body of literature investigating the built environment and the connections with PA participation. Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey was linked with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) maps for the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario. The first part of the thesis developed a walkability index by combining built environment measures to explore the associations with LTPA and TRPA. The second part explored the associations between individual measures of the built environment with total physical activity, after accounting for neighborhood variability. Keywords: physical activity, built environment, Geographic Information Systems, Canadian Community Health Survey, walkability index, hierarchical linear modeling

Abstract (French)

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