Is the Neighbourhood Environment Associated with Sedentary Behaviour Outside of School Hours Among Children?

Abstract

Neighbourhood features appear to positively and negatively influence children's sedentary behaviours, highlighting the complexity of urban planning on behaviour. Further age- and context-specific studies are required.

Exploring the Distribution of Park Availability, Features, and Quality Across Kansas City, Missouri by Income and Race/Ethnicity: an Environmental Justice Investigation

“…Related to this, Coen and Ross (49) reported there were more quality concerns in parks in areas of poor health status. With respect to aesthetic features, researchers in Melbourne found that there were more aesthetic features (i.e., picnic tables, water features, lighting) in higher SES areas (27), and that the quality of neighborhood resources is a predictor of engaging in more outdoor activities (50). Thus, more quality concerns and fewer aesthetic features within parks can lead to both poorer perceptions and actual problems related to park attractiveness and safety, which can deter park visitation and use.…”

The Role of Built Environments on Children’s Sedentary Behavior: A Social Ecological Perspective

“…Various reports suggest that the social ecological perspective may be appropriate for addressing childhood obesity and low levels of physical activity among children, and appears applicable for sedentary behavior [3,29,43,44,45,46]. The impact of physical environmental factors on sedentary behavior as well as physical activity has received increased attentions in recent years from researchers, practitioners, as well as health policy makers, and will remain a critical topic in future years if school-aged children's rates of obesity and overall sedentary time continue to rise.…”

“…Examples include, but are not limited to, high quantities of easily accessible fast-food outlets, lower overall cost for foods high in saturated fat and calories, expanding meal portion sizes, rapid technological advancements, increased time spent engaged in media use, and favor inactive travel (e.g., motorized vehicle) as a means of transportation [13,25,27,28,29]. Consequently, these advancements in the environment may increase daily opportunities for energy consumption while reducing opportunities for energy expenditure based primarily on convenience or accessibility of alternative choices [7,13].…”

“…Research has found the greater the land area dedicated for public open spaces, the more parents were satisfied with their local parks, and families living in a cul-de-sac were associated with higher reported levels of children's physical activity [7,29]. Community design adversely impacts health behaviors and contributes to negative health outcomes (i.e., obesity and other chronic disease) when they lack development patterns, adequate street connectivity, and destinations within appropriate and safe walking distances [9,39].…”

“…Fund programs aimed to teach public how to interpret food labels and menus ♦ ♦ Katz 2011 [66] Note. H = Home; N = Neighborhood/Community; S = School Upgrade and redesign the playgrounds in school to increase its functions ♦ Van Kann 2016 [72] Lengthen physical activity recess and lunch break time into daily schedule ♦ Morgan 2016 [78] Schools provide equipment to children and reduce restriction on bringing sport equipment to school ♦ Veitch 2011 [29] Decrease the playground density by splitting up the recesses of different groups of children ♦ Stierlin 2015 [7] Decrease the number of children sharing the playground in school ♦ Stierlin 2015 [7] Replace motor vehicle use with active travel by increasing park and playground renovations, road traffic safety, and multi-component community-based initiatives ♦ ♦ ♦ Whitt-Glover 2009 [79] Note. H = Home; N = Neighborhood/Community; S = School Substituting Sedentary Behavior for Physical Activity.…”