Objective: Rates of physical activity (PA) are low, especially among college students. Tree canopy and social capital have been correlated with higher rates of PA. This study assessed the relationship between tree canopy and social capital on minutes of PA.
Participants: Students from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, located in Southern Nevada, were surveyed on social capital and self-reported minutes of PA.
Methods: Tree canopy coverage was calculated within a 1 km walk buffer around each participant's home. Logistic regression was used to determine if tree canopy and social capital predicted meeting PA recommendations of 150 minutes/week.
Results: 42.4% of participants met the PA recommendations and males were more likely than females to meet them (odds ratio [OR] = 0.517). Social capital was a significant predictor of PA (OR = 1.308) while tree canopy was not.
Conclusions: Exploration of social capital to increase PA and further investigations into correlates of PA for college students in sprawling desert environments are recommended.
Keywords: Built environment; green space; physical activity; social capital; tree canopy.