Built Environment Influences of Children’s Physical Activity: Examining Differences by Neighbourhood Size and Sex
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methods
2.1. Measures
2.1.1. Physical Activity
2.1.2. Independent Variables
Built Environment Variable | Description |
---|---|
Open space parks (#/km2) | The number of parks per square km within each buffer without any built recreational amenities. |
Parks with at least one sports field (#/km2) | The number of parks per square km within each buffer containing at least one sports field (defined as tennis courts, soccer fields, baseball diamonds, and football fields). |
Parks with at least one playground (#/km2) | The number of parks per square km within each buffer containing at least one playground. |
Parks with both at least one sports field and playground (#/km2) | The number of parks per square km within each buffer containing at least one sports field and at least one playground. |
Distance to the nearest school (km) | The shortest distance along the street network between each child’s home and the nearest public, Catholic, or private school in the City of London. |
Distance to the nearest recreational site (km) | The shortest distance along the street network between each child’s home and the nearest arena or public/private recreational facility. |
Land use mix | An entropy measure between 0 and 1 reflecting the distribution of land-use. |
Multi-use path space (km2) | The amount of multi-use path area within each buffer. |
Intersection count (#/km2) | The number of 3- and 4-way intersections within each buffer. |
2.2. Statistical Analyses
3. Results
3.1. Descriptive Statistics
Variable | n | % |
---|---|---|
Age (years) | ||
9 | 10 | 2.30 |
10 | 69 | 15.86 |
11 | 187 | 42.99 |
12 | 131 | 30.11 |
13 | 36 | 8.28 |
14 | 2 | 0.46 |
Sex | ||
Boy | 177 | 40.69 |
Girl | 258 | 59.31 |
Presence of a sibling | ||
Only child | 54 | 12.41 |
Has sibling(s) | 352 | 80.92 |
Prefer not to answer | 29 | 6.67 |
Mode of travel | ||
Active | 160 | 36.78 |
Inactive | 275 | 63.22 |
Mean | SD | |
Median family income in CAD (in thousands) | 71.76 | 26.89 |
Variable | Average Daily Minutes of MVPA During Weekdays | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
During Class Time | Recess | Non-School Time | All Weekdays | |||||
Mean | p-Value | Mean | p-Value | Mean | p-Value | Mean | p-Value | |
Sex | ||||||||
Boys | 19.432 | 0.000 | 23.680 | 0.000 | 33.783 | 0.009 | 75.985 | 0.000 |
Girls | 14.264 | 13.979 | 28.014 | 55.750 | ||||
Total Sample | 16.367 | - | 17.927 | - | 30.361 | - | 63.984 | - |
3.2. Model Specification
3.3. Model Results
Variables | Regression Coefficients by Buffer Size | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
500 m a | 800 m b | |||
B. | p-Value | B. | p-Value | |
Age (years) | 0.097 | 0.918 | 0.160 | 0.853 |
Sex (base: boys) | ||||
Girls | −4.779 | 0.015 | −4.973 | 0.007 |
Siblings (base: only child) | ||||
Has sibling(s) | 5.933 | 0.027 | 6.496 | 0.027 |
Prefer not to answer | 2.858 | 0.507 | 3.207 | 0.430 |
Mode of travel (base: active) | ||||
Inactive | −11.202 | 0.000 | −11.255 | 0.000 |
Median family income in CAD (10-3) | 0.033 | 0.496 | 0.021 | 0.696 |
Open space park: #/km2 | −0.824 | 0.135 | −0.060 | 0.956 |
Park with sports field: #/km2 | 0.929 | 0.016 | 2.653 | 0.020 |
Park with playground: #/km2 | −1.721 | 0.070 | −3.088 | 0.184 |
Park with more than one unique feature: #/km2 | −2.645 | 0.063 | −3.966 | 0.090 |
Distance to nearest recreational facility c: km | −2.094 | 0.102 | −1.607 | 0.175 |
Distance to nearest school c: km | 1.116 | 0.661 | 0.146 | 0.949 |
Land use mix (×101) | 0.002 | 0.998 | −0.558 | 0.539 |
Multi-use path: m2 (10-3) | 1.407 | 0.018 | 0.584 | 0.031 |
Road connectivity: # of intersections/km2 | 0.042 | 0.280 | 0.035 | 0.636 |
Constant | 32.898 | 0.038 | 34.318 | 0.024 |
Variables | Regression Coefficients by Buffer Size | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boys (n = 177) | Girls (n = 258) | |||||||
500 m a | 800 m b | 500 m c | 800 m d | |||||
B. | p-Value | B. | p-Value | B. | p-Value | B. | p-Value | |
Age (years) | −0.134 | 0.957 | −0.119 | 0.957 | 0.339 | 0.700 | 0.261 | 0.753 |
Presence of a sibling (base: only child) | ||||||||
Has sibling(s) | 10.077 | 0.003 | 11.984 | 0.004 | 2.164 | 0.443 | 1.694 | 0.561 |
Prefer not to answer | 4.575 | 0.589 | 8.412 | 0.282 | −0.679 | 0.900 | −1.409 | 0.780 |
Mode of Travel (base: active) | ||||||||
Inactive | −8.275 | 0.089 | −9.940 | 0.041 | −11.65 | 0.000 | −11.184 | 0.000 |
Median family income in CAD (10-3) | −0.054 | 0.554 | −0.091 | 0.262 | 0.099 | 0.034 | 0.103 | 0.032 |
Open space park: #/km2 | −1.370 | 0.256 | −0.445 | 0.848 | −0.424 | 0.459 | −0.098 | 0.915 |
Park with sports field: #/km2 | 1.363 | 0.020 | 3.657 | 0.048 | 0.880 | 0.055 | 2.760 | 0.032 |
Park with playground: #/km2 | −3.403 | 0.042 | −8.082 | 0.026 | −0.171 | 0.866 | 1.237 | 0.603 |
Park with more than one unique feature: #/km2 | −3.941 | 0.106 | −6.996 | 0.098 | −1.651 | 0.271 | −1.187 | 0.544 |
Distance to nearest recreational facility e : km | −3.754 | 0.190 | −2.721 | 0.334 | −1.499 | 0.358 | −1.318 | 0.370 |
Distance to nearest school e: km | 4.939 | 0.340 | 2.984 | 0.461 | −0.789 | 0.780 | −1.230 | 0.633 |
Land use mix (×101) | −0.326 | 0.681 | −1.564 | 0.158 | 0.414 | 0.567 | 0.407 | 0.682 |
Multi-use path: m2 (10-3) | 1.421 | 0.822 | 0.770 | 0.072 | 1.257 | 0.091 | 0.358 | 0.326 |
Road connectivity: # of intersections/km2 | −0.022 | 0.052 | 0.016 | 0.926 | 0.087 | 0.100 | 0.055 | 0.383 |
Constant | 42.992 | 0.148 | 48.789 | 0.085 | 18.858 | 0.159 | 18.25 | 0.143 |
4. Discussion
4.1. Children’s Weekday Physical Activity: Overall and During School Hours
4.2. Children’s Weekday Physical Activity During Non-school Hours: Individual level and Neighbourhood SES Influences
4.3. Physical Activity during Non-School Hours: Neighbourhood Built Environment Influences
4.4. Limitations
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Mitchell, C.A.; Clark, A.F.; Gilliland, J.A. Built Environment Influences of Children’s Physical Activity: Examining Differences by Neighbourhood Size and Sex. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13, 130. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13010130
Mitchell CA, Clark AF, Gilliland JA. Built Environment Influences of Children’s Physical Activity: Examining Differences by Neighbourhood Size and Sex. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2016; 13(1):130. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13010130
Chicago/Turabian StyleMitchell, Christine A., Andrew F. Clark, and Jason A. Gilliland. 2016. "Built Environment Influences of Children’s Physical Activity: Examining Differences by Neighbourhood Size and Sex" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 13, no. 1: 130. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13010130