Public Open Spaces and Leisure-Time Walking: A Longitudinal Study With Brazilian People in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

AIM: To examine whether changes in public open spaces (POS) were associated with leisure-time walking (LTW) between 2014 and 2021. METHODS: The sample comprised a prospective cohort of individuals living in São Paulo City, Brazil. The baseline sample was collected in 2014/2015 (4042 people aged 12 y or older) and the second wave in 2020/2021 (1431 people aged 18 y or older, 35.4% of total). Changes in POS scores in 500-m network buffers were based on household address, including positive or negative maintenance and increases or decreases in parks, public squares, and bike paths between 2015 and 2020. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to evaluate LTW in the baseline and second wave. To examine the association of LTW with changes in POS, we used multilevel models in 4 levels: health administration areas, census tracts, individuals, and observations of individuals. The exposure was the POS tertiles, and the outcome was LTW. RESULTS: Changes in LTW prevalence were observed in both periods and according to POS tertiles distributions. When adjusted for time (baseline/second wave), gender, education, and age, the highest POS tertile was significantly associated with a high likelihood for LTW (odds ratio = 1.44; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-2.02). CONCLUSION: The results showed that people in São Paulo who lived within 500-m buffers with the highest access to POS were more likely to practice LTW between 2014/2015 and 2020/2021. These results have important implications for policies that were implemented in 2014, including the New Master Plan to contribute to São Paulo's good ranking among healthy cities.

Perspectives on urban mobility in promoting physical activity in the context of commuting in Brazil / Perspectivas sobre mobilidade urbana na promoção da atividade física no contexto dos deslocamentos no Brasil

Despite Brazil's important advances in regulatory aspects related to city planning, the disorder-ly growth of Brazilian cities makes it difficult to implement changes that would result in greater opportunities for the active commuting of the population. This essay was designed to reflect on opportunities for improvement in the urban environment to promote physical activity in the context of commuting in Brazil. From this perspective, the study identified policies that promote orderly growth and support active commuting in cities. It also suggested the use of indicators to evaluate and monitor development, with a particular emphasis on active commuting. Furthermore, it is essential to adapt and improve the urban planning process to meet the needs of Brazilian municipalities and foster closer collaboration with civil society. Thus, it will be possible to verify the changes in the urban environment and their impact on the active commuting, promoting the development of healthy and sustainable cities

Apesar do Brasil apresentar importante avanço em aspectos regulatórios relacionados ao planejamento das cidades, o crescimento desordenado das cidades brasileiras dificulta a realização de mudanças que reflitam em maiores oportunidades no deslocamento ativo da população. Este ensaio foi elaborado com objetivo de refletir sobre as oportunidades para melhorias no ambiente urbano para a promoção da atividade física no contexto do deslocamento no Brasil. Nessa perspectiva, o estudo identificou políticas que permitem o crescimento ordenado e favoreça o deslocamento ativo nas cidades, além de sugerir o uso de indicadores para avaliação e monitoramento do desenvolvimento, com especial foco no deslocamento ativo. Ademais, é imprescindível que o processo de planejamento urbano seja adaptado e aprimorado considerando as necessidades dos municípios brasileiros e com aproximação da sociedade civil. Assim, será possível verificar as modificações no ambiente urbano e seu impacto no deslocamento ativo da população, estimulando a criação de cidades saudáveis e sustentáveis

Validity of self-reported body mass and height: relation with sex, age, physical activity, and cardiometabolic risk factors. / Validade da massa corporal e da estatura autorreferidas: relações com sexo, idade, atividade física e fatores de risco cardiometabólicos.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the validity of self-reported body mass and height measurements in adolescents, adults and older adults according to sex, age, leisure-time physical activity level, nutritional status, and cardiometabolic risk factors. METHODS: The study included 856 subjects, aged 12 years or older, who participated in the São Paulo Health Survey (ISA-2015) and who had their body mass and height measured and self-reported. Based on the Body Mass Index (BMI), a classification of nutritional status was made according to standardized criteria for each phase of life. The validation of self-reported data was examined by the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient, Bland-Altman and paired T-Test. Linear regression models were used to estimate the calibration coefficients, and sensitivity and specificity tests were performed. RESULTS: Self-reported body mass and height values tend to be very similar to measured values, with a few exceptions. For the adolescents, an underestimation of height was noted, while for the older adults, an overestimation. There was a consistent underestimation of self-reported body mass among women, and an overestimation of BMI among men who practiced less than 150 minutes of physical activity per week during leisure time. The calibration process of self-reported measures made them more consistent with the values measured, increasing the sensitivity in the classification of nutritional status among women and the specificity among men. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported measures of height, body mass and BMI provided valid and reliable measures, presenting a substantial improvement after calibration.

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a validade da massa corporal e da estatura autorreferidas em adolescentes, adultos e idosos segundo sexo, idade, nível de atividade física no lazer, estado nutricional e fatores de risco cardiometabólicos. MÉTODOS: Participaram do estudo 856 sujeitos, com 12 anos ou mais, que responderam ao Inquérito de Saúde de São Paulo (ISA-2015) e que possuíam a massa corporal e a estatura autorreferidas e aferidas. Com base no índice de massa corporal, realizou-se uma classificação do estado nutricional de acordo com critérios padronizados para cada fase da vida. A validade das medidas autorreferidas foi examinada usando o coeficiente de correlação intraclasse, Bland-Altman e o teste t pareado. Utilizaram-se regressões lineares para elaborar os coeficientes de calibração, e realizaram-se testes de sensibilidade e especificidade. RESULTADOS: Os principais resultados apontam que os valores de massa corporal e estatura autorreferidas tendem a ser bem similares aos aferidos, apesar de algumas exceções. Para os adolescentes, notou-se uma subestimação da estatura, ao passo que, para os idosos, houve superestimação. Com relação à massa corporal, houve consistente subestimação da medida autorreferida entre as mulheres. Entre os homens que praticavam menos de 150 minutos semanais de atividade física no lazer, notou-se superestimação do índice de massa corporal. O processo de calibração das medidas autorreferidas tornou-as mais concordantes com as medidas aferidas, aumentando a sensibilidade na classificação do estado nutricional entre as mulheres e a especificidade entre os homens. CONCLUSÕES: As medidas autorreferidas de estatura, massa corporal e índice de massa corporal forneceram medidas válidas e confiáveis, apresentando melhoras substanciais após a calibração.