Less greenery in the neighborhood and less time spent in a park are linked to poorer general and mental health among young children

This study investigated potential associations between residential surrounding greenness, preschool children's park use, sedentary behavior, and mental and general health. While previous studies have documented a positive association between green space and children's health, mechanisms explaining this association are not well established.

Data analyzed for this study included parent-reported information of 1489 4-6-year-old Lithuanian children living in Kaunas city. Health-related information provided by the parents/guardians focused on both physical and mental health. Additional information focused on time watching TV, frequency of park visits, pro-social behaviors, and emotional and behavioral problems. Estimates of residential greenness exposure for each child were generated using the satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a frequently-used indicator of surrounding greenness.

According to the parents' reports, 14% of the participating children had poor general health, and 44.7% spent 5 or more hours per week in city parks. Children with poor health generally engaged in significantly more sedentary behavior than children not in poor health. Children with better mental and general health tended to live in greener neighborhoods. Findings also showed a statistically significant association between the time spent in parks and the duration of sedentary behaviors, with more time in parks associated with decreased sedentary behavior. More time in parks was also associated with a lower risk of poor health. In fact, for every additional hour of time spent in parks, the risk for poor health decreased. No statistically significant association was found between the distance from the child's residence to the nearest park and the child's health outcomes,

This study “is one of the first studies in Eastern Europe to explore the influence of the joint effect of greenness levels around the child's home and time spent in a city park on the risk of poor health and mental difficulties in pre-schoolers.” The overall findings indicate that less greenery in the neighborhood and less time spent in a park are linked to poorer general and mental health among young children. These results indicate that physical activity in green spaces may help prevent poor general and mental health among children.