Jenna Panter

Bio: Jenna Panter is an academic researcher from University of Cambridge. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Poison control. The author has an hindex of 39, co-authored 93 publications receiving 4499 citations. Previous affiliations of Jenna Panter include Medical Research Council & University of East Anglia.

Environmental determinants of active travel in youth: A review and framework for future research

Abstract: Many youth fail to meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity. Walking and cycling, forms of active travel, have the potential to contribute significantly towards overall physical activity levels. Recent research examining the associations between physical activity and the environment has shown that environmental factors play a role in determining behaviour in children and adolescents. However, links between the environment and active travel have received less attention. Twenty four studies were identified which examined the associations between the environment (perceived or objectively measured) and active travel among youth aged 5–18 years. Findings were categorised according to the location of the environmental measure examined; attributes of the neighbourhood, destination and the route between home and destination. Results from the reviewed studies indicated that youth active travel is positively associated with social interactions, facilities to assist active travel and urban form in the neighbourhood as well as shorter route length and road safety en-route. A conceptual framework is presented which highlights the associations between active travel behaviours and environmental factors, drawing upon both existing and hypothesised relationships. We provide a review of the available literature and present a novel theoretical framework that integrates the environment into the wider decision making process around travel choices for children and adolescents. Further work should explore associations where gaps in understanding have been identified, and account for the main moderators of behaviour so hypothesised associations can be confirmed.

Attitudes, social support and environmental perceptions as predictors of active commuting behaviour in school children

Abstract: Background: Environmental perceptions appear to play a role in determining behaviour in children, although their influence on active commuting remains unclear. This study examines whether attitudes, social support and environmental perceptions are associated with active commuting behaviour in school children and whether these associations are moderated by the distance to school. Methods: Data were collected as part of the SPEEDY study (Sport, Physical activity and Eating behaviour: Environmental Determinants in Young people), a cross-sectional study of 2064 children from schools in Norfolk, UK. Data regarding the usual mode of travel to school, attitudes towards and social support for active commuting, perceptions of the neighbourhood and route to school were assessed using questionnaires completed by 2012 children and their parents. Distance to school was estimated using a Geographic Information System and this was used to compare associations between personal and environmental factors and active travel, across different distance categories. Results: Forty per cent of children reported usually walking to school, with 9% cycling and the remainder using motorised travel. Parental attitudes and safety concerns, the presence of social support from parents and friends and parent-reported neighbourhood walkability were all found to be predictors of active commuting, with children receiving peer and family support and living in supportive environments being more likely to walk or cycle. There was some evidence of a moderating effect of distance whereby attitudes were more important for short distances and safety concerns long. Conclusion: Both attitudinal and environmental perceptions are associated with children's active commuting behaviours. Given the difficulty in modifying attitudes directly, the effect on them of interventions to provide more supportive environments should be evaluated.

Family-based interventions to increase physical activity in children: a systematic review, meta-analysis and realist synthesis

Abstract: SummaryObjective Family-based interventions represent a potentially valuable route to increasing child physical activity (PA) in children. A dual meta-analysis and realist synthesis approach examined existing interventions to assist those developing programmes to encourage uptake and maintenance of PA in children. Design Studies were screened for inclusion based on including participants aged 5–12 years, having a substantive aim of increasing PA by engaging the family and reporting on PA outcome. Duplicate data extraction and quality assessment were conducted. Meta-analysis was conducted in STATA. Realist synthesis included theory development and evidence mapping. Results Forty-seven studies were included, of which three received a ‘strong’ quality rating, 21 ‘moderate’ and 23 ‘weak’. The meta-analysis (19 studies) demonstrated a significant small effect in favour of the experimental group (standardized mean difference: 0.41; 95%CI 0.15–0.67). Sensitivity analysis, removing one outlier, reduced this to 0.29 (95%CI 0.14–0.45). Realist synthesis (28 studies) provided insight into intervention context (particularly, family constraints, ethnicity and parental motivation), and strategies to change PA (notably, goal-setting and reinforcement combined). Conclusion This review provides key recommendations to inform policy makers and other practitioners in developing evidence-based interventions aimed at engaging the family to increase PA in children, and identifies avenues for future research.

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Abstract: NUDGE: IMPROVING DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein Penguin Books, 2009, 312 pp, ISBN 978-0-14-311526-7This book is best described formally as a general explanation of and advocacy for libertarian paternalism, a term coined by the authors in earlier publications. Informally, it is about how leaders, systems, organizations, and governments can nudge people to do the things the nudgers want and need done for the betterment of the nudgees, or of society. It is paternalism in the sense that "it is legitimate for choice architects to try to influence people's behavior in order to make their lives longer, healthier, and better", (p. 5) It is libertarian in that "people should be free to do what they like - and to opt out of undesirable arrangements if they want to do so", (p. 5) The built-in possibility of opting out or making a different choice preserves freedom of choice even though people's behavior has been influenced by the nature of the presentation of the information or by the structure of the decisionmaking system. I had never heard of libertarian paternalism before reading this book, and I now find it fascinating.Written for a general audience, this book contains mostly social and behavioral science theory and models, but there is considerable discussion of structure and process that has roots in mathematical and quantitative modeling. One of the main applications of this social system is economic choice in investing, selecting and purchasing products and services, systems of taxes, banking (mortgages, borrowing, savings), and retirement systems. Other quantitative social choice systems discussed include environmental effects, health care plans, gambling, and organ donations. Softer issues that are also subject to a nudge-based approach are marriage, education, eating, drinking, smoking, influence, spread of information, and politics. There is something in this book for everyone.The basis for this libertarian paternalism concept is in the social theory called "science of choice", the study of the design and implementation of influence systems on various kinds of people. The terms Econs and Humans, are used to refer to people with either considerable or little rational decision-making talent, respectively. The various libertarian paternalism concepts and systems presented are tested and compared in light of these two types of people. Two foundational issues that this book has in common with another book, Network of Echoes: Imitation, Innovation and Invisible Leaders, that was also reviewed for this issue of the Journal are that 1 ) there are two modes of thinking (or components of the brain) - an automatic (intuitive) process and a reflective (rational) process and 2) the need for conformity and the desire for imitation are powerful forces in human behavior. …

The Practice Of Everyday Life

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Nature and Health

Abstract: Urbanization, resource exploitation, and lifestyle changes have diminished possibilities for human contact with nature in many societies. Concern about the loss has helped motivate research on the health benefits of contact with nature. Reviewing that research here, we focus on nature as represented by aspects of the physical environment relevant to planning, design, and policy measures that serve broad segments of urbanized societies. We discuss difficulties in defining “nature” and reasons for the current expansion of the research field, and we assess available reviews. We then consider research on pathways between nature and health involving air quality, physical activity, social cohesion, and stress reduction. Finally, we discuss methodological issues and priorities for future research. The extant research does describe an array of benefits of contact with nature, and evidence regarding some benefits is strong; however, some findings indicate caution is needed in applying beliefs about those benefits,...