Measuring the health environment for physical activity and nutrition amongyouth: A review of the literature and applications for community initiatives

Children's diet and exercise patterns are affected by numerous environmenta l factors, including the availability of healthful foods and exercise oppor tunities in the community, media messages about foods, and family practices regarding physical activity and food choices. Efforts to measure these env ironmental factors are relatively new. The present paper describes an ecobe havioral perspective on factors influencing health behavior. The authors re view the reliability and validity of 16 environmental measures relevant to physical activity and nutrition among youth. To illustrate the use of envir onmental measures, a case study is provided of how one was used to evaluate two partnerships whose missions were to decrease risk of cardiovascular di sease and some cancers among children. The paper closes with recommendation s for research and practice. (C) 2000 American Health Foundation and Academ ic Press.