Crime rates and sedentary behavior among 4th grade Texas school children.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Although per capita crime has generally fallen over the period which coincides with the obesity epidemic, it has not fallen uniformly across communities. It also has not fallen enough to allay fears on the part of parents. Over the past 30 years, technological changes have made the indoor alternatives to playing outside, where children are more vulnerable to criminal activity, more enjoyable (cable TV, video games, and the internet) and comfortable (the spread of air conditioning to low income neighborhoods). We determined whether indoor sedentary behavior patterns are associated with community crime statistics. 4th graders in the U.S. are typically 9 or 10 years old.

Methods

We used data from the 2004-2005 Texas School Physical Activity and Nutrition (SPAN) sur

SUBMITTER: Brown HS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2412913 | biostudies-literature | 2008 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature