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An analysis of the determinants of children’s weekend physical activity participation

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Abstract

This paper examines the out-of-home, weekend, time-use patterns of children aged 5–17 years, with a specific emphasis on their physical activity participation. The impact of several types of factors, including individual and household demographics, neighborhood demographics, built environment characteristics, and activity day variables, on physical activity participation is analyzed using a joint nested multiple discrete–continuous extreme value-binary choice model. The sample for analysis is drawn from the 2000 San Francisco Bay Area Travel Survey. The model developed in the paper can be used to assess the impacts of changing demographics and built environment characteristics on children’s physical activity levels.

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the valuable comments of three anonymous reviewers on an earlier version of the paper. The authors also acknowledge Jessica Guo’s help in compiling the spatial variables, Elizabeth Sall’s efforts in acquiring the business database used for this research, and Lisa Macias’s assistance in typesetting and formatting this document. The second author would also like to acknowledge the support of his family in undertaking this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1761, Austin, TX, 78712-0278, USA

    Rachel B. Copperman & Chandra R. Bhat

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  1. Rachel B. Copperman
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  2. Chandra R. Bhat
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Correspondence to Chandra R. Bhat.

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Copperman, R.B., Bhat, C.R. An analysis of the determinants of children’s weekend physical activity participation. Transportation 34, 67–87 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-006-0005-5

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