Skip to main page content
U.S. flag
See More

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Dec;95(6):869-880.
doi: 10.1007/s11524-018-0311-1.

The Association Between Park Facilities and Duration of Physical Activity During Active Park Visits

Orion T Stewart  1   2 , Anne Vernez Moudon  3   4 , Alyson J Littman  5 , Edmund Seto  6 , Brian E Saelens  7   8
Affiliations

The Association Between Park Facilities and Duration of Physical Activity During Active Park Visits

Orion T Stewart et al. J Urban Health. 2018 Dec.

Abstract

Public parks provide places for urban residents to obtain physical activity (PA), which is associated with numerous health benefits. Adding facilities to existing parks could be a cost-effective approach to increase the duration of PA that occurs during park visits. Using objectively measured PA and comprehensively measured park visit data among an urban community-dwelling sample of adults, we tested the association between the variety of park facilities that directly support PA and the duration of PA during park visits where any PA occurred. Cross-classified multilevel models were used to account for the clustering of park visits (n = 1553) within individuals (n = 372) and parks (n = 233). Each additional different PA facility at a park was independently associated with a 6.8% longer duration of PA bouts that included light-intensity activity, and an 8.7% longer duration of moderate to vigorous PA time. Findings from this study are consistent with the hypothesis that more PA facilities increase the amount of PA that visitors obtain while already active at a park.

Keywords: Accelerometer; Built environment; GIS; GPS; Recreation.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. US Department of Health and Human Services. 2008 Physical activity guidelines for Americans. US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC. 2008. http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/guidelines/default.aspx. Accessed 25 Feb 2014.
    1. Troiano RP, Berrigan D, Dodd KW, Masse LC, Tilert T, McDowell M. Physical activity in the United States measured by accelerometer. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008;40(1):181–188. doi: 10.1249/mss.0b013e31815a51b3. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sallis JF, Floyd MF, Rodriguez DA, Saelens BE. Role of built environments in physical activity, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Circulation. 2012;125(5):729–737. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.969022. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. US National Physical Activity Plan Coordinating Committee. National Physical Activity Plan. 2010. http://www.physicalactivityplan.org/NationalPhysicalActivityPlan.pdf. Accessed 23 Sep 2013.
    1. Bancroft C, Joshi S, Rundle A, Hutson M, Chong C, Weiss CC, et al. Association of proximity and density of parks and objectively measured physical activity in the United States: a systematic review. Soc Sci Med. 2015;138:22–30. - PubMed

Publication types