Abstract
Previous research has shown differences in adult physical activity (PA) levels within urban population, in what types of activities they participated, and where they were active. A sample of 514 urban Philadelphia adult residents was surveyed about level and location of PA. A majority (55.6%) of survey participants reported being vigorously or moderately active or walking enough to meet PA guidelines. A significantly higher proportion of men (vs. women), younger (vs. older) adults and people who were employed (vs. unemployed) met the PA guidelines. Most participants (87.5%) reported walking at least once within the previous week, while 79.3% reported engaging in moderate or vigorous activity. Of the participants who reported being moderately or vigorously active, 64.0% were physically active in indoors only, 22.6% were active in outdoors only, and 13.4% were active in both indoors and outdoors. Significantly fewer black women were active outdoors, compared to all other race/sex combinations (odds ratio = 0.43, p-value < 0.01). In this diverse sample of urban residents, outdoor PA was significantly less frequently reported than indoor PA, particularly for Black women. These findings could help inform urban PA interventions.