Influence of neighborhood infrastructure and social environment on physical activity among secondary and higher education students: results of a Russian multicenter study

Physical inactivity (PA) among young individuals represents a significant public health issue. It is essential to regard PA as a multifaceted behavioral phenomenon influenced by numerous factors, including the environmental and infrastructural context of one’s residence. Objective. To evaluate the impact of residential area infrastructure and social environment on physical activity among vocational and higher education students. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted from 2022 to 2023, involving 1.883 vocational and higher education students across six regions of Russia. The assessment of residential area infrastructure utilized an adapted version of the Neighborhood Environmental Walkability Scale (NEWS) questionnaire, and the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) was employed to evaluate PA. Additionally, the extent of sports participation in the local community and the subcultural affiliations of respondents’ immediate environments were examined using a structured questionnaire. Ordinal regression analysis, adjusted for students’ individual characteristics, was used to assess the associations. The results are presented as odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Results. The results indicated that among various infrastructure parameters, an increase in overall PA is significantly related to street walkability within the residential area (OR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.07—1.46) and to total walkability, as calculated from the total scores of the NEWS questionnaire (OR: 1.24; 95% CI: 1.02—1.52). A higher level of sports activity among area residents was found to correlate with increased overall PA (OR: 1.08; 95% CI: 1.03—1.13) and recreational PA (OR: 1.16; 95% CI: 1.09—1.22). Students’ connections to sports subcultures within their close environments were associated with an increase in general PA (OR: 1.22; 95% CI: 1.12—1.33), transport-related PA (OR: 1.14; 95% CI: 1.04—1.25), and recreational PA (OR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.17—1.43). Conclusions. The findings suggest that a combination of modifiable factors within urban environments and immediate social contexts significantly influences students’ physical activity levels. These results may serve as a foundation for informing urban policy and public health initiatives that enhance the role of social environments in fostering healthy lifestyle choices among students.