Unraveling the Interplay between Built Environments, Daily Physical Activity Patterns and Obesity: A Comparative Study in Urban and Suburban Contexts

Recent studies have found that the relationship between built environments on obesity varies across different levels of urbanicity. Physical activity (PA) is thought to be an important explanatory factor in the varied relationship, which remains scarcely explored. Meanwhile, limited research has explored the reverse causation of obesity which considers weight status as a predictor of PA. To fill in the research gaps, this study bridges built environments, daily PA patterns, and people’s weight status differentiating urban and suburban contexts, using data from a household survey collected in Shanghai. The duration of four types of PA embedded in residents’ daily activities has been examined. The findings indicate that there are significant differences between urban and suburban residents’ daily PA patterns, with urban residents having higher levels of PA duration overall. Active transport and leisure PA were identified as protective PAs against obesity for urban residents, while semi-active transport and household PA were identified for suburban residents. Built environments exhibit varied effects on PA across urban and suburban areas. For instance, higher park density is positively associated with longer weekend leisure PA duration in urban areas while this effect is not significant in suburban areas; higher density of public transit stops is found to significantly increase the weekday semi-active transport PA in suburban areas but not in urban areas. Thus, policies aiming to promote healthy weight management and active lifestyles should consider the role of PA patterns, and design locality-specific interventions in urban and suburban areas.