Neighborhood, family and individual characteristics related to adolescent park-based physical activity

- Factors associated with adolescent park-based physical activity were examined.
- Park availability was positively associated with park-based physical activity.
- Park safety was positively associated with park-based physical activity.
- These findings can inform interventions to promote youth physical activity.

BackgroundLocal parks are an important community resource that may influence levels of physical activity among youth. However, few population-based studies have investigated park-based physical activity among youth.PurposeThis study examines sociodemographic, family, and neighborhood characteristics associated with park-based physical activity among adolescents.MethodsData were from the 2007 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), a population-based survey of California households, and were analyzed in 2012-2013 and 2015. This study examined individual (age, gender, race/ethnicity, and nativity), family (household income, parental education, and nativity), and neighborhood characteristics (urbanicity, perceived park availability, perceived park safety, neighborhood income, and racial composition) associated with engaging in park-based physical activity among adolescents.ResultsIn California, 71% of adolescents reported being physically active the last time they visited a park. In adjusted multinomial logistic regression analyses, older adolescents and females were less likely to be physically active in parks. Adolescents with a park within walking distance of home and those with a safe park nearby were more likely to be physically active during a park visit.ConclusionsPark availability and perceptions of park safety are important predictors of engaging in park-based physical activity among adolescents. These findings provide information that can help inform interventions intended to increase physical activity among youth. Strategies that increase availability and safety of parks and other recreation spaces may be particularly effective.