The perception of the neighborhood environment changes after participation in a pedometer based community intervention

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the perception of the neighbourhood environment alters when changing the physical activity behaviour through a pedometer intervention.

FINDINGS: The intervention was implemented for 15 weeks in a small village in Germany, and was based on the individual baseline activity level. Eighty-two inhabitants participated in the study and completed an environmental questionnaire before and after the intervention. Results showed that after the intervention the participants perceived a lower distance to local facilities, a higher availability of bike lanes and infrastructures, a better maintenance of infrastructure, a better network and a safer traffic situation.

CONCLUSION: This suggests that a change in the levels of physical activity merges the levels of exposure to the environment which results in different environmental perceptions.