After translation and back translation, NEWS-A and the IPAQ were tested for their reliability and validity in a previous study conducted among 168 Hangzhou residents who had similar characteristics with the current study population. The results click here showed moderate to good test–retest reliability, construct validity, and criterion validity for the questionnaires (waiting to be published). Neighborhood-level built environment correlates
were assessed through in-the-field audits of neighborhood street segments. A typical neighborhood in most urban areas of China usually shows a shape of square or rectangle with 0.2 to 0.5 km2 in area. In this study, we extended 400 m out from each side of the original administrative boundaries to form a study area with 1.0 to 1.5 km2 in area. All the street segments in these 30 extended study areas were evaluated using environmental audit instrument, the China Urban Built Environment Scan Tool (CUBEST). A GDC-0941 concentration street segment was defined as a section of street or road between two intersections with a maximum length of 400 m. Street audit
was conducted by trained graduated students. A standard operating procedure for environmental audit was developed using detailed written instructions and field pictures to achieve uniformity in the performance of evaluation. A two-day intensive rater training was developed, including explanation of the principles, operation, potential problems and solutions of the CUBEST and GPS Resminostat positioning device. Seven aspects of neighborhood-level built environment were assessed, including: 1)
Access to commercial destinations; 2) Access to physical activity destinations; 3) Street connectivity; 4) Sidewalk quality; 5) Bike lane quality; 6) Esthetic quality; and 7) Safety from traffic. All environmental scans were conducted during daylight hours. The average time required for data collection was 6.2 min per segment. The CUBEST is a reliable and valid instrument that can be used to assess the physical activity-related urban built environment. Additional details about its development, reliability and validity test results are available in print (Su et al., 2014). Descriptive statistics were calculated for demographic, anthropometric, and SES variables. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight divided by the square of height (kg/m2). The median and inter-quartile range was calculated for LTPA and LTW due to their skewed distributions. Participants who did not meet the moderate or high physical activity criteria were classified as physically inactive according to the IPAQ scoring procedure. After logarithmic transformation of MET-min score, t-test was used to compare physical activity between genders. The chi-square test was used to compare the proportion of physically inactive between genders.