Our newest paper examines the relationship between neighborhood walkability and the physical activity (PA) of children and adolescents in Munich.
Using data from the Kreuz & Quer (K&Q) intervention, which involved 9,852 participants across several urban districts, the study assessed whether objective characteristics of the built environment—measured by the Walkability Index—are associated with youth PA levels. Physical activity was operationalized as the number of actively performed visits (“check-ins”) at K&Q checkpoints. Results from a linear mixed-model analysis showed a significant positive association between higher Walkability Index scores and children’s and adolescents’ activity levels. Random effects such as district, season, and intervention day explained part of the observed variance. However, substantial unexplained variance remains, indicating that additional social and environmental factors may influence youth activity behavior.
The study highlights the importance of considering both structural and qualitative aspects of urban environments to create spaces that effectively promote physical activity among young people.
Eipel, L., Teich, P., Arntz, F., Scheller, D., Mall, C. & Schmid-Ellinger, J. (2025). Associations between walkability and physical activity among children and adolescents: evidence from a gamified intervention. BMC Public Health 25, 3819. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-25317-0