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Logo of bmcphBioMed Centralsearchsubmit a manuscriptregisterthis articleBMC Public Health
 
BMC Public Health. 2012; 12: 294.
Published online 2012 May 17. doi:  10.1186/1471-2458-12-294
PMCID: PMC3355030
Copyright ©2012 Oyeyemi et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Perceived crime and traffic safety is related to physical activity among adults in Nigeria
Adewale L Oyeyemi,corresponding author1 Babatunde O Adegoke,2 James F Sallis,3 Adetoyeje Y Oyeyemi,1 and Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij4
1Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medical Sciences, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria
2Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
3Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Division of Behavioral Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California, USA
4Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
corresponding authorCorresponding author.
Adewale L Oyeyemi: alaoyeyemi/at/yahoo.com; Babatunde O Adegoke: badegoke/at/comui.edu.ng; James F Sallis: jsallis/at/ucsd.edu; Adetoyeje Y Oyeyemi: adeoyeyemi/at/aol.com; Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij: ilse.debourdeaudhuij/at/ugent.be
Received December 16, 2011; Accepted April 20, 2012.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Abstract
Background
Neighborhood safety is inconsistently related to physical activity, but is seldom studied in developing countries. This study examined associations between perceived neighborhood safety and physical activity among Nigerian adults.
Methods
In a cross-sectional study, accelerometer-based physical activity (MVPA), reported walking, perceived crime and traffic safety were measured in 219 Nigerian adults. Logistic regression analysis was conducted, and the odds ratio for meeting health guidelines for MVPA and walking was calculated in relation to four safety variables, after adjustment for potential confounders.
Results
Sufficient MVPA was related to more perception of safety from traffic to walk (OR=2.28, CI=1.13- 6.25) and more safety from crime at night (OR=1.68, CI=1.07-3.64), but with less perception of safety from crime during the day to walk (OR=0.34, CI=0.06- 0.91). More crime safety during the day and night were associated with more walking.
Conclusions
Perceived safety from crime and traffic were associated with physical activity among Nigerian adults. These findings provide preliminary evidence on the need to provide safe traffic and crime environments that will make it easier and more likely for African adults to be physically active.
Keywords: Walking, Transportation, Neighborhood, Africa
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