Leisure-time physical activity among adult women in Northern Mexico: relation to neighborhoods, parks provision and social deprivation
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Date
2016
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AESOP
Abstract
It has been widely documented around the world that physical inactivity is a major factor in the increasing risk of non-communicable diseases and premature mortality1. Cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, colon cancer, and obesity are some of the chronic conditions whose incidence across nations is inversely related to physical activity2. Despite increased awareness in past years, for most developing countries physical activity remains a pressing public health issue.
Particularly, inadequate levels of physical activity have been associated with the epidemic of chronic diseases and obesity affecting Mexicans, but principally women. Epidemiological data show that 10% of cases of breast cancer, 6.2% of coronary hearth diseases, and 7.7 % of type 2 diabetes affecting Mexican women are attributable to a lack of physical activity 3.
Because of the public health benefits of LTPA, international agencies are recommending programs promoting exercise in developing countries, particularly programs targeting women and other at-risk groups4. Authorities in developing countries are responding to these calls by launching ambitious programs to engage people in regular exercise, as well as eliminating barriers to physical activity 5, 6. A case in point is Mexico City’s “Muevete y Metete en Cintura” program that promotes physical activity through education, enhancement of public parks, and the transformation of abandoned city parcels into spaces for community recreation 5.
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Proceedings of the IV World Planning Schools Congress, July 3-8th, 2016 : Global crisis, planning and challenges to spatial justice in the north and in the south
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