TY - JOUR
T1 - Environmental and social correlates of physical activity in neighborhood parks
T2 - An observational study in Tampa and Chicago
AU - Floyd, Myron
AU - Spengler, J. O.
AU - Maddock, Jay
AU - Gobster, Paul
AU - Suau, Luis
N1 - Funding Information:
A version of this paper was presented at the 2006 Active Living Research Conference, Coronado California. Financial support for this study was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Active Living Research program. The authors wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their extensive and helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. The authors also wish to thank Dr. Chrystos Siderelis for his advice on data analysis.
Copyright:
Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2008/7
Y1 - 2008/7
N2 - This study used observational methods to examine physical activity (PA) and selected correlates in 28 parks in Tampa, Florida, and Chicago, Illinois. We observed 9,454 park users within predetermined activity zones and coded their activity as sedentary, walking (i.e., moderate intensity), or vigorous PA. In Tampa, higher temperature, unorganized activity, lower amounts of shade, lower neighborhood income, Hispanic neighborhood ethnicity, male gender and child age group were significantly associated with walking. Vigorous activity was not associated with income and ethnicity. Morning hours, unorganized activity, lower neighborhood income and African American neighborhood ethnicity were associated with walking in Chicago. Vigorous activity was associated with children, lower neighborhood income and African American ethnicity. Findings from this study can inform policy decisions and future research directions.
AB - This study used observational methods to examine physical activity (PA) and selected correlates in 28 parks in Tampa, Florida, and Chicago, Illinois. We observed 9,454 park users within predetermined activity zones and coded their activity as sedentary, walking (i.e., moderate intensity), or vigorous PA. In Tampa, higher temperature, unorganized activity, lower amounts of shade, lower neighborhood income, Hispanic neighborhood ethnicity, male gender and child age group were significantly associated with walking. Vigorous activity was not associated with income and ethnicity. Morning hours, unorganized activity, lower neighborhood income and African American neighborhood ethnicity were associated with walking in Chicago. Vigorous activity was associated with children, lower neighborhood income and African American ethnicity. Findings from this study can inform policy decisions and future research directions.
KW - Active living
KW - Built environment
KW - Health benefits
KW - Neighborhood diversity
KW - Observational methods
KW - SOPLAY
KW - Urban parks
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U2 - 10.1080/01490400802165156
DO - 10.1080/01490400802165156
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:47649106654
SN - 0149-0400
VL - 30
SP - 360
EP - 375
JO - Leisure Sciences
JF - Leisure Sciences
IS - 4
ER -