Representations of the relationship among physical activity, health and perceived living environment in Hungarian urban children's images

Physical activity has a great influence on our health. Because of the environmental prerequisites of physical activity and health it would be important to explore what children think of this relationship. Therefore, this paper aims to highlight the connection among environment/urban planning and physical activity and the importance of them for health.The primary goal of the present study was to determine beliefs and interconnections between environment and regular physical activity between Grade 4 and Grade 5 children living in different urban settings. Subjects included young children aged 9–11 (N = 448) from six primary schools in Hungary representing three residential location types (capital city, medium-sized and small towns).Interconnections among the children's environment, health/illness and physical activity were assessed through a questionnaire based upon the ‘draw-and-write’ technique. Our findings showed a close connection between urban children's images of physical activity and the environment. Children's mentions of sports equipment, place, or institution suitable for physical activity were frequently in connection with the word ‘environment’. The children's drawings and written answers that were analyzed in this study support, within each type of the residential location examined, that there is an opportunity to engage in satisfactory leisure time physical activity.