Perception vs Reality: Is Perceived or Objective Proximity to Physical Activity Opportunities in the Environment More Associated With Recent Use Among Adolescent Girls?

Abstract

Little is known about adolescent girls’ accuracy of perception of physical activity (PA) opportunities in their neighborhood. Furthermore, few studies have explored whether proximity to PA opportunities is associated with girls’ recent use. Participants included 356 high school girls enrolled in New Moves, a school-based physical activity intervention. Objective proximity to neighborhood PA opportunities was assessed using Geographic Information System (GIS) software. Girls self-reported their perceived proximity to resources and recent use of these opportunities. Girls’ perceived proximity of distance to a park, walking/biking trail, and recreational center was associated with recent use of these resources (P = .02, P < .001, P < .001, respectively), whereas associations were not found with objective measures of distance. Both perceived and objective proximity were associated with recent use of a private fitness facility (P = .006 and P = .002, respectively). Perceived proximity to neighborhood PA opportunities is associated with use of those resources among adolescent girls. Increasing awareness of neighborhood opportunities could be a viable method to increasing PA.

Perception of square and park characteristics and physical activity practice among High School students

“…Thus, the adolescent who notes the availability of squares/parks near his/her home can achieve higher levels of PA. In this perspective, a research carried out in the United States corroborated the results of the present study, indicating that girls who perceived their home's proximity to a park, walking or running trail or recreational center were associated with the recent utilization of these resources 21 .…”

Urban greenspace use among adolescents and young adults: An integrative review

“…They reported that overall activity, measured as time spent in specific geographic locations, was greatest in outdoor settings such as playgrounds and sidewalks, but the authors omitted details on actual use. Perception of greenspace and visiting greenspace were the main foci of another four articles (Barr et al., 2014; Bloesma et al., 2018; Dias et al., 2019; Gallerani et al., 2017).…”

“…Moderate to vigorous activity in greenspaces, measured by accelerometers or self‐report, was greater in boys than girls (Mertens et al., 2019; Moore et al., 2014; Van Hecke et al., 2018). Although the type of activity did not necessarily differ for girls, if the proximity of greenspace concerning their place of residence was more than walking distance, they were less likely to use greenspace (Barr‐Anderson et al., 2014; Boone‐Heinonen et al., 2010).…”