Residential Proximity to Urban Play Spaces and Childhood Overweight and Obesity in Barcelona, Spain: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Findings on the relationship between play spaces and childhood overweight and obesity are mixed and scarce. This study aimed to investigate the associations between residential proximity to play spaces and the risk of childhood overweight or obesity and potential effect modifiers. This longitudinal study included children living in the city of Barcelona identified in an electronic primary healthcare record database between 2011 and 2018 (N = 75,608). Overweight and obesity were defined according to the WHO standards and we used 300 m network buffers to assess residential proximity to play spaces. We calculated the risk of developing overweight or obesity using Cox proportional hazard models. A share of 29.4% of the study population developed overweight or obesity, but we did not find consistent associations between play space indicators and overweight or obesity. We did not find any consistent sign of effect modification by sex, and only some indications of the modifying role of area socioeconomic status and level of exposure. Although it is not possible to draw clear conclusions from our study, we call for cities to continue increasing and improving urban play spaces with an equitable, healthy, and child-friendly perspective.

Urban Green Spaces’ Influence on Civilization Diseases—Meta-Analysis and Critical Review

“…A recommended concept of urban planning is having green space within a 15-min walk from home. However, in some studies [1,47,52], the proximity of green space does not prevent obesity. Apart from the quality of green space, this phenomenon may be explained by an assessment of motivation.…”

“…As far as NCDs having a complex cause, in the reviewed studies, other factors of possible contribution have been assessed, namely: age, gender, educational level, employment status, and personal income. Some studies also investigated: race [6,15,35,52,56,63], marital status, smoking status [6,12,14], diet [28], food resources in neighborhood [19,45], breastfeeding duration [25], participation in physical activity-usually self-declared [6,26], TV viewing time [5,25], mobility impairments and household ownership of cars [46], type of medical coverage [9,12], neighborhood crime [41], park quality [8,54], and satisfaction with the park [38,45].…”

“…In the adult population, BMI negatively correlates with a green space in 4 studies [17,42,44,46], while in 2 studies, no difference is observed [43,45]. Interestingly, in 1 study of the adult population [1] and 2 studies of the children population [47,52], the proximity of green space is associated with a higher probability of overweight/obesity. In the children population, however, BMI negatively correlates with green space only in 3 studies [23,24,56], while in 5 studies, no difference is observed.…”

“…The number of studies also allows the performance of separate analyses for the adult and children population, and the results are similar in the adults-OR 0.85 (95% CI 0.75-0.96); p < 0.001; I 2 99.4% (Figure 3) but not in the children population-OR 0.88 (95% CI 0.72-1.03); p < 0.001; I 2 99.6% (Figure 4). Interestingly, in 1 study of the adult population [1] and 2 studies of the children population [47,52], the proximity of green space is associated with a higher probability of overweight/obesity.…”

Proximity Sports as a Sustainable Strategy for the Promotion of Physical Activity at an Early Age: The KIA Project

“…Proximity to sports facilities and venues is particularly important for the most vulnerable social groups, such as minorities [26], single-parent families [27], or economically disadvantaged individuals [28].…”