Features of public open spaces and physical activity among children: Findings from the CLAN study

Public open space features may influence children's physical activityPublic open spaces may be important places for children to play and be physically active. Timperio and colleagues investigated relationships between the specific features of public open spaces and children's physical activity by examining data collected as part of a neighborhood study in Melbourne, Australia.

Participants in this study included 163 eight- to nine-year-old children and 334 thirteen- to fifteen-year-old children. Participants wore an accelerometer for one week to measure their physical activity and researchers used a Geographic Information System and trained observer to identify and analyze the closest public open space to each child's home. An audit tool was developed to assess specific features of the public open space including the number of recreational facilities, playgrounds, amenities, paths, lighting, trees, water features and signage.

In analyzing the data, Timperio and colleagues found that younger children spent significantly more time engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on weekdays and weekends as compared to adolescents. While there were no gender differences among younger children, among adolescents researchers found that boys spent significantly more time engaged in MVPA on weekdays and weekends as compared to girls. With regard to public open space, Timperio and colleagues found that participants, on average, lived about 300 meters from their closest public open space. When examining relationships between features of children's closest public open space and physical activity, researchers obtained somewhat mixed and inconsistent results. For example, researchers found that playgrounds were positively associated with younger boys' weekend physical activity, the number of recreational facilities was inversely associated with younger girls' physical activity after school and on the weekend, and the presence of trees and signage regarding dogs were positively associated with adolescent girls' physical activity after school.

While this study provides one of the few examinations of public open space features and children's physical activity, additional research is needed to better understand children's actual use of public open space and the quantity and quality of public open space features.