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Development of a Nationally Representative Built Environment Measure of Access to Exercise Opportunities

SPECIAL TOPIC — Volume 12 — January 22, 2015

Access to exercise opportunities across the United States is fairly evenly distributed regionally by county. Pockets of better-performing counties across the United States, such as in northeastern states and southern California, are evident. Counties range from 0% to 100% of the population having access to exercise opportunities. National quartile cut point values are 34.5%, 53.3%, and 70.1%.

Figure 1. County-level distribution of access to exercise opportunities.

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RegionPercentage (Standard Deviation) of CountiesPercentage (Standard Deviation) of States
Midwest54.4 (21.4)73.1 (7.6)
Northeast72.3 (18.6)86.4 (8.3)
Southeast46.4 (25.0)60.7 (9.6)
Southwest44.0 (23.3)63.6 (11.8)
West58.4 (26.1)76.6 (11.8)


Figure 2. Regional variation of access to exercise opportunities. The average of states was calculated by using the mean values of state estimates for access to exercise opportunities for each region. The average of counties was calculated by using the mean values of county estimates for access to exercise opportunities for each region. The only significant difference was between counties in the Northeast and the Southeast (P < .05).

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The opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions.
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