Association of physical and social neighbourhood environment with movement behaviours among schoolchildren: a compositional data analysis

How schoolchildren distribute their time between movement behaviours may be impacted by the neighbourhood environment. Few studies have investigated the associations between the physical and social environment and the full movement behaviour composition, including times spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light physical activity (LPA), sedentary behaviour, and sleep, and their findings are inconsistent. Therefore, our aim was to investigate this association in a large, national-representative sample of schoolchildren from major cities and regional/remote areas. We used data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children and the Child Health CheckPoint study, collected among 1230 child-parent pairs (child age range: 10–12 years). Parents were asked about neighbourhood general safety, access to destinations and services, and social capital and cohesion. Children’s time spent in MVPA, LPA, sedentary behaviour, and sleep was assessed using wrist-worn GENEActiv accelerometers. The associations between the physical and social environment characteristics (independent variables) and movement behaviour composition expressed as isometric log ratio coordinates (dependent variables) were examined using multiple linear regression analyses, adjusted for age, body mass index, pubertal status, sex, and socioeconomic position. Among schoolchildren from regional/remote areas, access to destinations and services (Pillai’s trace = 0.030; p = 0.010), as well as social capital and cohesion (Pillai’s trace = 0.024; p = 0.032) were associated with movement behaviour composition. In specific, better access to destinations and services was associated with higher MVPA and lower LPA, while higher social capital and cohesion were associated with higher MVPA and LPA, and lower sedentary behaviour (with negligible changes in the remaining movement behaviours). We did not find a significant association between general safety and the movement behaviour composition among schoolchildren from regional/remote areas (Pillai’s trace = 0.005; p = 0.641) or any significant associations among schoolchildren from major cities (p > 0.050 for all). These findings highlight the importance of access to destinations and services, as well as social capital and cohesion, in shaping the movement behaviour composition among schoolchildren from regional/remote areas. More research is needed to draw conclusions about the association between neighbourhood environment and movement behaviour composition among schoolchildren from major cities.