Racial differences in environmental correlates of physical activity and television viewing in rural youth

Purpose: To examine environmental correlates of physical activity (PA) and television viewing (TV) among white and African American (AA), rural youth.

Methods: A total of 140 youth (53% female, mean age 13.4 years) recruited from fourth, eighth, and eleventh grades in two rural counties in Georgia participated in the study. Participant's anthropometric measurements were taken and they completed questionnaires assessing PA, TV, social support for PA, self-efficacy for PA, perceptions of neighborhood environment. Furthermore, participant's parents completed a questionnaire concerning community support for PA. Analysis of covariates was used to test for differences in the behavioral and environmental variables, controlling for age, gender, and weight status.

Results: AA youth reported lower levels of PA and higher levels of TV time than white youth. White youth reported higher levels of social support for PA and self-efficacy for PA. AA youth were more likely to report PA in their neighborhood (70% vs. 51%) while white youth were more likely to report PA at a recreation center (48% vs. 26%). However, AA youth were more likely than white youth to report dangerous neighborhood environment (p < .001). Parents of white youth were significantly more likely to report the presence of recreation facilities (30% vs. 5%) and swimming pools (19% vs. 3%) in their neighborhood than the parents of AA youth.

Conclusions: AA youth report less PA and more TV viewing while their parents report less access to PA facilities than white youth from the same rural communities.