Built Environment and Physical Activity among Japanese Adults: A Brief Review

Abstract

Built environment is an important correlate of physical activity participation. Understanding the long-term effects of environment on health behavior is necessary for the promotion of population-based physical activity. However, most studies assessing the relationships between physical activity and environment have been conducted in the United States and Australia. The present study reviews Japanese researches on built environment and physical activity, and discusses the applicability of the built environment on promoting physical activity among Japanese adults. A review was conducted by searching the PubMed and Ichushi electronic database from inception to Sept 24, 2009. Eligible articles were identified as follows：2 studies that developed the environment scale；10 studies that assessed the relationships with physical activity and built environment. There have been only a limited number of studies which were conducted with Japanese adults, thus more researches are needed to draw conclusions about the built environment associated with physical activity