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Open Access 01-12-2022 | Research

Municipal resources to promote adult physical activity - a multilevel follow-up study

Authors: Virpi Kuvaja-Köllner, Eila Kankaanpää, Johanna Laine, Katja Borodulin, Tomi Mäki-Opas, Hannu Valtonen

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2022

Abstract

Background

In Finland, local authorities (municipalities) provide many services, including sports and physical activity facilities such as pedestrian and bicycle ways and lanes, parks, sports arenas and pools. This study aimed to determine whether local authorities can promote physical activity by allocating resources to physical activity facilities.

Methods

The data on municipality expenditure on physical activity and sports, number of sports associations receiving subsidies from the municipality, kilometers of ways for pedestrians and bicycles and hectares of parks in 1999 and 2010 were gathered from national registers. These data were combined using unique municipal codes with individual survey data on leisure-time physical activity (N = 3193) and commuting physical activity (N = 1394). Panel data on physical activity originated from a national health survey, the Health 2000 study, conducted in 2000–2001 and 2011–2012. We used the data of persons who answered the physical activity questions twice and had the same place of residence in both years. In the data, the individuals are nested within municipalities, and multilevel analyses could therefore be applied. The data comprised a two-wave panel and the individuals were followed over 11 years.

Results

The resources for physical activity varied between municipalities and years. Municipal expenditure for physical activity and total kilometers of pedestrian ways increased significantly during the 11 years, although a clear decrease was observed in individuals’ physical activity. In our models, individual characteristics including higher education level (OR 1.87) and better health status (OR 7.29) increased the odds of increasing physical activity. Female gender was associated with lower (OR 0.83) leisure-time physical activity. Living in rural areas (OR 0.37) decreased commuting physical activity, and age (OR 1.05) increased it. Women (OR 3.16) engaged in commuting physical activity more than men.

Conclusions

Individual-level factors were more important for physical activity than local resources. A large part of the variation in physical activity occurs between individuals, which suggests that some factors not detected in this study explain a large part of the overall variation in physical activity.

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Title: Municipal resources to promote adult physical activity - a multilevel follow-up study
Authors: Virpi Kuvaja-Köllner
Eila Kankaanpää
Johanna Laine
Katja Borodulin
Tomi Mäki-Opas
Hannu Valtonen
Publication date: 01-12-2022
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13617-8

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Municipal resources to promote adult physical activity - a multilevel follow-up study

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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Abstract

Background

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