David Berrigan

National Institutes of Health | NIH · DCCPS

The relationship between racial/ethnic residential segregation and physical activity (PA) remains unclear with both positive and negative associations between segregation and PA recently reported. We aimed to examine the relationship between county-level residential segregation and total daily PA and domain-specific PA and whether these association...

Given the high and growing prevalence of obesity among adults in the United States, obesity treatment and prevention are important topics in biomedical and public health research. Although researchers recognize the significance of this problem, much remains unknown about safe and effective prevention and treatment of obesity in adults. In response...

Background Youth use different forms of screen time (e.g., streaming, gaming) that may be related to body mass index (BMI). Screen time is non-independent from other behaviors, including physical activity and sleep duration. Statistical approaches such as isotemporal substitution or compositional data analysis (CoDA) can model associations between...

Introduction: Sedentary behavior (SB) is highly prevalent and shows an increasing trend in United States (US) adults, resulting in adverse health outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. Yet, potential environmental determinants of SB, including racial residential segregation, remain understudied. Hypothesis: County-level seg...

Early observations that only a small proportion of United States (US) adults were engaging in enough aerobic physical activity to provide substantial health benefit helped shape our public health messaging for physical activity. This messaging has consistently indicated that most adults should increase their activity levels. However, it has been di...

Background Housing is a major social determinant of health that affects health status and outcomes across the lifespan. Objectives An interagency portfolio analysis assessed the level of funding invested in “health and housing research” from fiscal years (FY) 2016–2020 across the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the United States Department of...

Background: The built environments in which we work, live, and play can influence physical activity behaviors, and perceptions of these environments are associated with walking behavior. This study's objective is to compare national-level data on perceptions of the near-home walking environment from the 2015 and 2020 National Health Interview Surv...

Purpose: To assess the association between the amount of recess provision and children's accelerometer-measured physical activity (PA) levels. Methods: Parents/guardians of 6- to 11-year-olds (n = 451) in the 2012 National Youth Fitness Survey reported recess provision, categorized as low (10-15 min; 31.9%), medium (16-30 min; 48.0%), or high (>...

Background Time spent on screens and adiposity change rapidly from childhood to adolescence, with differences by gender and race/ethnicity. Objective Apply time‐varying effect models (TVEMs) to a nationally representative sample of youth to identify the age ranges when the cross‐sectional associations between television viewing, computer use, and...

Background: National adherence to the recess recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not been comprehensively studied in the United States. Methods: Data from 6 nationally representative data sets over the last decade (Classification of Laws Associated with School Students, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study,...

Health behaviors are critical determinants of the well-being of individuals and populations, and understanding the determinants of these behaviors has been a major focus of research. One important determinant that has received little direct attention in past health research is uncertainty: a complex phenomenon that pertains not only to scientific i...

We examined associations of neighborhood walkability with the prevalence, type, timing, and temporal characteristics of walking in a representative sample of United States adults. Adults (N = 2649) completed the ACT24 previous-day recall. Home address was linked to block-group National Walkability Index. Survey-adjusted Poisson and logistic regress...

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the criterion validity of Activities Completed over Time (ACT24), an automated previous day recall tool designed for mobile devices for 1) estimating sedentary vs active time compared to an activPAL; and 2) estimating time spent in activity domains (e.g., work, household, leisure) compared to dire...

Purpose: Physical activity levels (PALs) are associated with mortality risk and were instrumental in estimating national energy requirements, but we are unaware of population-based estimates of PALs in United States (U.S.) adults. Thus, we conducted a nationwide survey using a validated previous-day recall method to estimate PALs and the behaviora...

Background: Behavioral weight loss interventions can lead to an average weight loss of 5%-10% of initial body weight, however there is wide individual variability in treatment response. Although built, social, and community food environments can have potential direct and indirect influences on body weight (through their influence on physical activ...

Purpose: To identify associations between amount of school recess provision and children's physical activity (PA), weight status, adiposity, cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, and muscular endurance. Method: Data from 6- to 11-year-old participants (n = 499) in the 2012 National Youth Fitness Survey were analyzed. Parents/guardians...

In 1986, California enacted Proposition 65 (P65), requiring businesses to display warning signs informing consumers that specific chemicals and alcohol exposure increase the risk of cancer and reproductive harm. In 2018, the P65 alcohol warning signs were updated to include an informational P65 website link, and the update was associated with media...

Physical activity is associated lower risk for a broad range of non-communicable diseases and early mortality, and even small changes in daily activity levels could have a profound effect on public health at the population level. The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped daily life for United States (US) adults resulting in reductions in physical activity ear...

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic created a series of challenges for children's health, including several challenges related to nutrition and physical activity in child care settings. Thus, this study explored: 1) how COVID-19 impacted nutrition and physical activity in child care settings and how to address these challenges moving forward; 2) potentia...

Introduction/purpose: In the United States, it is recommended that schools provide at least 20 minutes of daily recess, but the optimal amount for health benefits is unknown. We examined associations between amount of recess and health indicators using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (NHANES; 2013-2016). Methods: For this c...

Increasing active travel to school (ATS) could reduce the deficit in youth physical activity participation; however, surveillance of ATS is limited. Given that ATS contributes to our understanding of children’s physical activity patterns nationwide, is influenced by local contexts and state laws, and occurs within communities, surveillance could be...

Background: State recess laws are recommended to encourage adequate and equitable access to recess and its benefits, but the downstream effects of state recess laws are unknown. We examined the association of state recess laws with district-level policy and school recess provision. Methods: This is cross-sectional analysis of the School Health P...

Background: State-level laws governing recess policies vary widely across the United States. We characterize the presence of such laws and assess their associations with child-level outcomes. Methods: The presence of a state recess law was determined using the Classification of Laws Associated with School Students (CLASS) database. Parents of 6-...

This article describes geospatial datasets and exemplary data across five environmental domains (walkability, socioeconomic deprivation, urbanicity, personal safety, and food outlet accessibility). The environmental domain is one of four domains (behavioral, biological, environmental and psychosocial) in which the Accumulating Data to Optimally Pre...

Purpose: To determine the associations between state-level indicators of structural racism and incidence of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) among black and white women diagnosed with breast cancer. Methods: Black and white women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2010 and 2016 were identified from 12 states represented in the Surveillance, E...

Background/objectives Experimental studies of time-restricted eating suggest that limiting the daily eating window, shifting intake to the biological morning, and avoiding eating close to the biological night may promote metabolic health and prevent weight gain. Subjects/methods We used the Eating & Health Module of the 2006–2008 and 2014–2016 Ame...

This cohort study uses National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data to estimate the number of deaths that could be prevented through increased physical activity among US adults.

Active transportation (AT) is widely viewed as an important target for increasing participation in aerobic physical activity and improving health, while simultaneously addressing pollution and climate change through reductions in motor vehicular emissions. In recent years, progress in increasing AT has stalled in some countries and, furthermore, th...

Resumen La obesidad infantil es un grave problema de salud pública en Latinoamérica y Estados Unidos y para luchar contra ella se precisan instrumentos de medición válidos y fiables y que tengan en cuenta los aspectos culturales. Para avanzar en este campo sería útil mejorar las mediciones en los distintos grupos de edades y países del continente a...

Resumen En respuesta al aumento de las tasas de obesidad infantil, Estados Unidos y algunos países de Latinoamérica han financiado numerosos estudios que analizan estrategias e intervenciones innovadoras. A pesar de ello, los avances han sido lentos, irregulares y esporádicos, lo cual demuestra la necesidad de intensificar el intercambio de conocim...

Introduction: Weather can be a barrier to walking. Understanding how perceptions of weather as a barrier and measured temperature are associated with walking can inform monitoring and promotion strategies. The objective of this study is to examine the association between perceptions of weather as a barrier to walking and measured weather with the...

Background: Surveillance of domain-specific physical activity in the United States is lacking. Thus, the authors describe domain-specific moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in a nationwide sample of US adults. Methods: Participants from the AmeriSpeak panel (n = 2649; 20-75 y; 50% female) completed the Activities Completed Over Time i...

Purpose: Higher levels of sedentary behavior are associated with early mortality, but the distribution of sedentary time by classes of behavior and demographic groups is poorly described in United States (US) adults. To quantify the amount and sources of sedentary time in US adults we conducted a nationwide survey using a novel validated self-admi...

Background: Innovative analyses of cardiovascular (CV) risk markers and health behaviors linked to neighborhood stressors are essential to further elucidate the mechanisms by which adverse neighborhood social conditions lead to poor CV outcomes. We propose to objectively measure physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, and neighborhood stress u...

Purpose: To present age- and sex- specific percentiles for daily wrist-worn movement metrics in U.S. youth and adults. This metric represents a summary of all recorded movement, regardless of the purpose, context, or intensity. Methods: Wrist-worn accelerometer data from the combined 2011-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NH...

Childhood obesity is a major public health challenge across Latin America and the United States. Addressing childhood obesity depends on valid, reliable, and culturally sensitive measurements. Such progress within and between countries of the Americas could be enhanced through better measurement across different age groups, different countries, and...

BACKGROUND Innovative analyses of cardiovascular (CV) risk markers and health behaviors linked to neighborhood stressors are essential to further elucidate the mechanisms by which adverse neighborhood social conditions lead to poor CV outcomes. We propose to objectively measure physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, and neighborhood stress usi...

BACKGROUND School is an important place for physical activity (PA); however, little is known about how homeschool students' PA levels compare with public and private school students. This study estimated the national prevalence of PA levels of homeschool students compared to public and private school students. METHODS We used the 2017 National Hou...

In response to the increasing rates of childhood obesity, the United States and countries across Latin America have invested in research that tests innovative strategies and interventions. Despite this, progress has been slow, uneven, and sporadic, calling for increased knowledge exchange and research collaboration that accelerate the adaptation an...

Background Sunburn is the strongest risk factor for melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. Adolescent sunburns are related to higher risk of developing melanoma later in life. Little is known about the association of sunburns and shade, particularly tree cover, around adolescent homes and schools. This linkage study assessed associations of adoles...

Introduction Walking is a common form of physical activity and is the most frequent way to access public transit. On-going changes in the US transportation system are occurring, notably increases in smartphone application-based ridesharing. The goal of this research is to assess whether increasing use of ridesharing was associated with a change in...

The primary purpose of this paper is to identify and review studies evaluating the effectiveness of programs to increase access to trails and trails use (physical activity) among youth from under-resourced communities. Three additional goals include identifying: (1) Correlates of physical activity/trail use and features of transportation systems an...

Objectives: This paper describes the development of a physical activity questionnaire (PAQ) designed for Chinese adolescents and their mothers in urban and rural settings, and reports on results of the PAQ, pedometry, and hand grip dynamometry from the Chinese Children and Families Cohort Study pilot investigation (CFCS). Methods: As part of a p...

Introduction Physical activity overall and during school-related opportunities among homeschool adolescents are poorly documented. Methods We used data from the National Cancer Institute’s Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating (FLASHE) study, a national sample of parent–child dyads. We examined reported frequency of physical activity in mi...

NCI Approaches to Geospatial resources

Objectives In addition to diet quality and quantity, the timing of eating in relation to the circadian rhythm may impact weight status and overall health. Experimental studies suggest that a shorter eating window and extended overnight fast may promote metabolic health and weight loss. Additionally, eating early in alignment with the circadian peak...

Purpose: Confounding due to poor health is a concern in accelerometer-based studies of physical activity and health, but detailed investigations of this source of bias are lacking. Methods: US adults (n=4,840) from NHANES (2003-2006) wore an accelerometer for 1 to 7 days (mean=5.7 days) and were followed for mortality through 2015. Logistic regr...

Background: Low-income and non-white children experience disparities in health, education, and access to nature. These health disparities are often associated and exacerbated by inequities in the U.S. educational system. Recent research suggests that nature contact may reduce these health and educational disparities for urban low-income populations...

The Environmental Protection Agency created the National Walkability Index (Index) to compare and analyze walkability among US communities. Index elements include design, distance to transit, and diversity of land uses. Associations between the Index and walking behavior have not been examined. This study describes associations between the Index an...

Purpose: Sedentary time relates to higher anxiety and more negative affect in children. This study assessed whether interrupting sitting over 3 hours is sufficient to influence state anxiety, positive affect, or negative affect, and tested weight status as a moderator. Methods: Analyses were the second (preplanned) purpose of a larger study. Chi...

This chapter includes three main sections followed by summary remarks. We begin with an overview of the merits of self-reports, here referred to as “report-based” measures or “reports” throughout the chapter and include descriptions of the various types of report-based measures and their applications. This is followed by a discussion of three key c...

Background: Globally, the International Classification of Activities for Time-Use Statistics (ICATUS) is one of the most widely used time-use classifications to identify time spent in various activities. Comprehensive 24-h activities that can be extracted from ICATUS provide possible implications for the use of time-use data in relation to activit...

Background: Despite decades of research and interventions, significant health disparities persist. Seventeen years is the estimated time to translate scientific discoveries into public health action. This Narrative Review argues that the translation process could be accelerated if representative data were gathered and used in more innovative and ef...

Socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods have been associated with poor health outcomes. Little is known about the biological mechanism by which deprived neighborhood conditions exert negative influences on health. Data from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) were used to assess the relationship between ne...

Plenary Video for The 2nd International Electronic Conference on Environmental Health Sciences scroll down at https://sciforum.net/conference/IECEHS-2 to view

Cancer occurs in specific places and spaces, each of which have identifiable geographic coordinates, characterized by unique natural, built and social characteristics, all of which contribute significantly to cancer across the spectrum from etiology through diagnosis, treatment and outcomes. In the first volume of this series, published in 2010, a...

In the U.S., immigrants and racial/ethnic minorities (e.g., Latinos) often report unfavorable neighborhood environments, which may hinder physical activity (PA). Among Latinos, PA levels are disproportionately lower in foreign-born, female, older, and low-education individuals. It is unclear whether these subgroups, including those from multiple di...

Background The positive association between physical activity and sunburn is a health behavior trade-off between the health benefits of physical activity and increased risk of skin cancer. Purpose We assessed walking, which is a common source of physical activity, and the prevalence of sunburn. Methods This research used the 2015 National Health...

Sun protective behaviors and physical activity have the potential to reduce cancer risk. Walking is the most common type of physical activity in the United States, but it is unclear whether sun protective behaviors differ by categories of walking, such as leisure versus transportation walking. We examined whether sun protective behaviors varied by...

Background The last few years have seen renewed interest in use-of-time recalls in epidemiological studies, driven by a focus on the 24-h day [including sleep, sitting, and light physical activity (LPA)] rather than just moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). This paper describes four different computerised use-of-time instruments (ACT24, PAR,...

Background Behaviour has diverse economic, social and health consequences. Linking time spent in different daily activities to energy expenditure (EE) is one way of investigating the health and physiological consequences of behaviour and identifying targets to improve population health and well-being. Methods We estimated behaviour-related EE for...

Background: Scant data exists on whether reason for immigration (work, asylum/refugee, study, f