Influenţa factorilor de mediu la nivel comunitar asupra activităţii fizice la adolescenţi şi tineri

Abstract

Physical activity is a complex behavior, infu-enced by personal, community and environmental factors. The aim of the current research was to review the literature approaching the infuence of environmental factors on attitudes, perceptions and levels of physical activity of adolescents and youth. A literature review was conducted, articles be-ing searched in the following databases: Medline, Scopus, Google Scholar, EbscoHost and Web of Knowledge. The following word combinations were used: environment, built environment, determinant, infuence, physical activity, levels, attitudes, percep-tions, youth, and adolescents.There is a direct association between built en-vironment characteristics, respectively the existen-ce and accesibility of recreational physical activity infrastructure and the attitudes, perceptions, and levels of physical activity of adolescents and yo-uth. Subjective (respondents’ perceptions) as well as objective measurements of these environmental factors were found to positively associate with physi-cal activity in these population subgroups. The infuence of the existence and availability of physical activity infrastructure on physical activity related perceptions and levels of physical activity in adolescents and youth should be considered by local public administration authorities in the develop-ment of interventions aimed at increasing the levels of physical activity in these population subgroups.

Keywords

• environmental factors, physical activity, adolescents, youth.