The Effect of Proximity on Park and Beach Use and Physical Activity Among Rural Adolescents

Edwards, Nicole; Larson, Ann; Beesley, Bridget

doi:10.1123/jpah.2011-0332

Cited by 27 publications

(27 citation statements)

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“…These results are similar to the findings produced by Edwards et al 21 who in a study of Australian adolescents, found a positive association between distance to parks and use of those environments for physical activity. Park proximity also emerged as influencing park use in a recent review of qualitative studies.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Neighborhood Park Use by Children

Dunton

Almanza

Jerrett

et al. 2014

American Journal of Preventive Medicine

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Background While having a greater number of neighborhood parks may be associated with greater overall physical activity in children, information is lacking about the extent to which children actually use parks for physical activity. Purpose This study combined accelerometer, GPS, GIS, and self-report methods to examine neighborhood park availability, perceived proximity, and use for physical activity in children. Methods Low-to-middle income children (aged 8–14 years) (n=135) from suburban communities in Southern California wore an Actigraph accelerometer and GlobalSat BT-335 GPS device across 7 days to measure physical activity and park use, respectively. ArcGIS identified parks within a 500m residential buffer of children’s homes. Parents reported perceptions of neighborhood park proximity through the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Survey (NEWS). Data were collected from March 2009 to December 2010, and analyzed in 2013. Results Fifty-four percent of families lived within 500m of a park. Of these children, GPS data indicated that 16% used it more than 15 minutes and an additional 11% of children used it between 5 and 15 minutes during the 7-day study period. The odds of extended park use (>15 minutes) increased fourfold when the distance between home and the nearest neighborhood park decreased by 100 meters. Additionally, the odds of any park use (>5 minutes) doubled when moving from the 25th to the 75th percentile for park greenness/vegetation density. Conclusions Although children’s use of neighborhood parks was generally low, it increased substantially when parks were closer to children’s homes and had greater vegetation density.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Neighborhood Park Use by Children

Dunton

Almanza

Jerrett

et al. 2014

American Journal of Preventive Medicine

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“…The data collection methods and demographic details are described elsewhere [8]. In brief, the Up4It study surveyed all 12–15 year old adolescents living in the Geraldton study area in attendance at one of the five high schools (n = 1626).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A pedestrian network was created for all accessibility analyses and is detailed elsewhere [8]. Briefly, the Geraldton street network was edited to include paths and potential shortcuts.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between park features and adolescent park use for physical activity

Edwards

Hooper

Knuiman

et al. 2015

Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act

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BackgroundEighty per cent of adolescents globally do insufficient physical activity. Parks are a popular place for adolescents to be active. However, little is known about which park features are associated with higher levels of park use by adolescents.ObjectivesThis study aimed to examine which environmental park features, and combination of features, were correlated with higher levels of park use for physical activity among adolescents. By examining park features in parks used by adolescents for physical activity, this study also aimed to create a park ‘attractiveness’ score predictive of adolescent park use, and to identify factors that might predict use of their closest park.MethodsAdolescents (n = 1304) living in Geraldton, a large rural centre of Western Australia, completed a survey that measured physical activity behaviour, perceptions of park availability and the main park used for physical activity. All parks in the study area (n = 58) were digitized using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and features audited using the Public Open Space Desktop Auditing Tool (POSDAT).ResultsOnly 27% of participants reported using their closest park for physical activity. Park use was associated with seven features: presence of a skate park, walking paths, barbeques, picnic table, public access toilets, lighting around courts and equipment and number of trees >25. When combined to create an overall attractiveness score, every additional ‘attractive’ feature present, resulted in a park being nearly three times more likely to be in the high use category.ConclusionsTo increase park use for physical activity, urban planners and designers should incorporate park features attractive to adolescents.

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“…Among other metrics were the number of and distances to supermarkets, grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and convenience stores [2, 17, 29–35]. Among PA-relevant metrics were the number of and distances to parks and recreational facilities, length of streets and sidewalks [26, 36–43]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obesity, diet quality, physical activity, and the built environment: the need for behavioral pathways

et al. 2016

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BackgroundThe built environment (BE) is said to influence local obesity rates. Few studies have explored causal pathways between home-neighborhood BE variables and health outcomes such as obesity. Such pathways are likely to involve both physical activity and diet.MethodsThe Seattle Obesity Study (SOS II) was a longitudinal cohort of 440 adult residents of King Co, WA. Home addresses were geocoded. Home-neighborhood BE measures were framed as counts and densities of food sources and physical activity locations. Tax parcel property values were obtained from County tax assessor. Healthy Eating Index (HEI 2010) scores were constructed using data from food frequency questionnaires. Physical activity (PA) was obtained by self-report. Weights and heights were measured at baseline and following 12 months’ exposure. Multivariable regressions examined the associations among BE measures at baseline, health behaviors (HEI-2010 and physical activity) at baseline, and health outcome both cross-sectionally and longitudinally.ResultsNone of the conventional neighborhood BE metrics were associated either with diet quality, or with meeting PA guidelines. Only higher property values did predict better diets and more physical activity. Better diets and more physical activity were associated with lower obesity prevalence at baseline and 12 mo, but did not predict weight change.ConclusionAny links between the BE and health outcomes critically depend on establishing appropriate behavioral pathways. In this study, home-centric BE measures, were not related to physical activity or to diet. Further studies will need to consider a broader range of BE attributes that may be related to diets and health.

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The Effect of Proximity on Park and Beach Use and Physical Activity Among Rural Adolescents

Abstract: Strategies should be put in place to encourage use of proximate supportive environments. Planning neighborhoods to reduce barriers to access and interventions to overcome seasonal variations in behavior may improve participation levels among adolescents.

Cited by 27 publications

References 0 publications

Neighborhood Park Use by Children

Neighborhood Park Use by Children

Associations between park features and adolescent park use for physical activity

Obesity, diet quality, physical activity, and the built environment: the need for behavioral pathways

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