IPEN

Primary Investigator:

Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij
Ilse.Debourdeaudhuij@ugent.be

Master in Clinical Psychology from the Ghent University (Belgium), Postgraduate in Behavioral Therapy, Ph.D. in Health Psychology for Ghent University.
Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Movement and Sport Sciences at the Ghent University, Belgium.
Research areas: health psychology, health promotion and primary prevention.
Research topics: promotion of healthy eating and physical activity, including research on determinants (psychosocial and environmental) of nutrition and activity behaviors, and on developing and evaluating interventions to promote both health behaviors in children, adolescents and adults. Research designs include validations studies, surveys on nutrition and activity habits and their determinants, quasi-experimental designs in schools, and randomized control trials to test intervention effects.

Research Team:

Greet Cardon
Email: Greet.Cardon@ugent.be

Greet Cardon is an assistant professor at the Department of Movement and Sports Sciences of Ghent University, Belgium, where she is a member of the research group “Physical activity, fitness and Health”. She does research in the field of physical activity, mainly focusing on children and youngsters. Her research focuses on understanding the determinants of physical activity, as well as identifying the most effective ways to promote physical activity in different age groups. Recently several studies were initialized evaluating environmental correlates of physical activity and studying physical activity levels, including in young children. Furthermore she supervises the BEPAS-study in youngsters, focusing on environmental correlates of physical activity in Belgium. She published over 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals and authored or co-authored several book chapters and 2 books.

Benedicte Deforche
Email: Benedicte.Deforche@ugent.be

Benedicte Deforche is assistant Professor (80%) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy) and post-doc researcher (20%) at Ghent University (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences). She obtained her PhD on “Physical activity and fitness in overweight and obese youth” in 2004. Her current research focuses on environmental correlates of (changes in) physical activity and overweight in children and adolescents. She is involved in two IPEN projects on youth and adults.

Heleen Spittaels
Email: Heleen.Spittaels@ugent.be

Dr. Heleen Spittaels received her Ph.D. from Ghent University in Ghent, Belgium. Her PhD focused on the effectiveness of computer-tailored physical activity advice in adults, delivered through the Internet. She works as post-doc researcher at the Department Movement and Sports Science of Ghent University. Her current research focuses on the assessment of environmental aspects of physical activity on behalf of the EU-project ALPHA (instruments for Assessing Levels of Physical Activity and fitness).

The project ALPHA (Instruments for Assessing Levels of Physical Activity and Fitness) aims at providing a set of instruments for assessing levels of physical activity, its underlying factors (e.g. build environment, transport, and workplace) as well as fitness in a comparable way within the European Union. One aspect of this ALPHA project is meeting a consensus on a European questionnaire to assess environmental aspects of physical activity. As part of this work a literature review and a survey was conducted among members of HEPA Europe and European members of IPEN to identify published or ongoing studies. Based on the results of the literature review and a consensus meeting with an international expert group a first draft of a European environmental questionnaire was developed. The questionnaire was translated into Dutch, French and German following a standard translation procedure and cognitive testing was done on the translated questionnaires. Finally pilot testing (test-retest stability, predictive validity) was done in 3 countries: Belgium, France and UK. After discussing the results of the 1s field testing on a 2nd expert meeting the questionnaire was adapted and tested again in a smaller field testing (test-retest stability) in Belgium, UK and Austria.

Femke De Meester
Email: Femke.Demeester@ugent.be

Femke De Meester is a Ph.D. student at the Department of Movement and Sport Sciences of the University of Ghent, Belgium. She is working under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Greet Cardon and Prof. Dr. Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij. During the first part of 2009 her doctoral research was situated within the European TEENAGE project. Currently, she is working on a cross-sectional study in Ghent (Belgian Environmental Physical Activity Study in Youth). The purpose of the present study is to investigate the influence of the social environmental, physical environmental and individual factors on physical activity and obesity in youth within the ecological model.

Abstract: The Belgian Environmental Physical Activity Study (BEPAS) in Youth.
This cross-sectional study examines the associations between environmental variables and the level of physical activity in adolescents. Adolescents (n = 1399) were selected from 32 neighbourhoods in Ghent varying in walkability and socio-economic status. To determine neighbourhood walkability, attributes of residential density, land-use mix and street connectivity were derived from Geographic Information System databases. All participating adolescents were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing perceived neighbourhood environmental characteristics, demographic information, psychosocial data and physical activity. The adolescents were also asked to wear an accelerometer for seven days. Height and weight were objectively measured and Body mass index was calculated. Analyses of the data are in progress.

Delfien Van Dyck, Ph.D. Student
Email: Delfien.Vandyck@ugent.be

Delfien Van Dyck is a PhD Student at Ghent University in Ghent, Belgium. Her PhD focuses on the relationship between the objectively measured and perceived physical environment and physical activity in adults. She executed the Belgian Environmental Physical Activity Study (BEPAS), an IPEN related project with a similar protocol and similar measures as the NQLS (USA) and PLACE (Australia) studies. She works at the Department at Movement and Sports Sciences of Ghent University.

The Belgian Environmental Physical Activity Study (BEPAS) aims at investigating the associations between the physical environment and physical activity, sedentary behaviors and overweight in adults. For this study, 24 neighborhoods in Ghent, Belgium were selected. Neighborhoods were stratified based on objectively measured (GIS) walkability, and matched on SES variables. This selection procedure resulted in 6 high-SES/high-walkable, 6 high-SES/low-walkable, 6 low-SES/high-walkable and 6 low-SES/low-walkable neighborhoods. In total, 1200 adults (20-65 years) participated in the study. All participants wore an accelerometer for seven consecutive days and filled in the Dutch version of the NEWS and a questionnaire on sociodemographics and psychosocial factors. Also, the long IPAQ (last seven days – interview version) was completed. Main results showed that living in a high walkable neighborhood was associated with more active transportation, more accelerometer-based MVPA and more leisure-time walking, both in high-SES and low-SES neighborhoods. However, living in a high walkable neighborhood also appeared to be associated with more sedentary behavior, which certainly needs further investigation in future studies.

Study design and participant recruitment

Similar to designs of NQLS and PLACE
Study conducted in Ghent (+/- 237,000 inhabitants, area of 156.18 km²), Belgium
Data collection between May 2007 and September 2008
1200 participants
24 neighbourhoods, based on statistical sectors
Stratification on walkabililty (high vs low), based on GIS data + matching on SES variables, derived from census data

24 neighbourhoods: 6 high walkable/high SES, 6 high walkable/low SES, 6 low walkable/high SES, and 6 low walkable/low SES

each neighbourhood: 250 randomly selected adults (20-65 years) received information letter. 2 to 6 days after posting the letter: home visits.
Inclusion criteria:

20-65 years
Living in private dwellings like apartments and houses
Being able to walk without assistance
Being able to fill in Dutch questionnaires

During home visit:

Signing informed consent
Long last 7 day IPAQ completed in interview version
Instructions on accelerometer wearing (7 consecutive days)
Demographic questionnaire, NEWS and psychosocial questionnaire delivered

Second home visit :

Recollection accelerometers and completed questionnaires

Home visits were done until 50 participants were recruited in each neighbourhood.

Demographic characteristics of participants

1200 participants, 50 per neighbourhood
All participants were already measured, not planning to collect more data
Sex: 47.9% male, 52.1% female
Age: mean age of 42.7 (12.6) years
Body Mass Index: males: mean BMI of 25.3 (3.7) kg/m²

females: mean BMI of 23.8 (3.9) kg/m²

employment status: 76.1% employed, 23.9% not employed
education: 4.4% primary, 34.6% secondary, 60.9% college/university
occupation: 24.9% blue collar, 75.1% white collar

Measures

Physical activity: long Dutch IPAQ (last 7 days) interview version and CSA accelerometer, 7 consecutive days of wearing
Demographic variables: self-reported sex, age, education, living situation, working situation, working status, height, weight, and address.
Neighbourhood perceptions: Dutch validated version of the NEWS, self-administration
Psychosocial correlates of PA: self-administered Dutch questionnaire
Neighbourhood walkability: GIS on neighbourhood level: connectivity, residential density and land use mix in each neighbourhood. Walkability index based on index used by L. Frank for the NQLS.
Neighbourhood SES: based on median annual household income data (NIS).

Relationship between the physical environment and physical activity in older people: a systematic review. Health and Place.

Spittaels H, Foster C, Oppert JM, Rutter H, Oja P, Sjostrom M & De Bourdeaudhuij I (2009) Assessment of environmental correlates of physical activity: development of a European questionnaire. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 6, 39.

Van Dyck D, Deforche B, Cardon G, De Bourdeaudhuij I (2009) Neighbourhood walkability and its particular importance for adults with a preference for passive transport. Health and Place 15:496-504.

De Meester, F., Van Dyck, D., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Deforche, B., Sallis, J.F., & Cardon, G. (2012). Active living neighborhoods: is neighborhood walkability a key element for Belgian adolescents? BMC Public Health, 12 (1), 7